The Curse of the Black Rose
by Sailor Phantom of Middle Earth
Summary: Many know of The Phantom of the Opera, but what if the Phantom was a girl? The Phantom, along with other main characters, have their genders switched in this modern retelling.
1. Prologue

A/N: _This is actually my third phan phic. What's interesting about the Prologue is that this is completely out of my character to write something like this. My friends who reviewed it were surprised. The good thing is the whole story won't be so grim or creepy. Hope you enjoy it._

**PROLOGUE**

People rushed up and down the many halls yelling for others to move as they pushed and pulled stretchers with people groaning and crying or making some unpleasant noise. A solitary girl sat in a room I had just walked in and looked at me with curious blue-green eyes. She smiled sweetly to see that someone had come, though it was not who she was expecting. A bit of the young girl's reddish brown hair laid across her face and her hands in her lap playing with her fingers. She looked to be about ten. I turned to leave but her gentle and curious voice beckoned me.

"I'm waiting for my daddy and mommy." She said as I stood in the doorway. "I want to say hi but I need a grownup to come with me." She hurried to my side and looked at me with pleading eyes. "Will you come with me? I know where they are."

Normally I would have denied this simple request, but considering what had happened only an hour ago that caused this hysteria, I took the girl to see her parents. She jumped in place excitedly and took my hand as she led me down the hall. No one paid much notice to us because of the panicking and rushing about, although it did not make it any easier to get to the rooms. Upon arriving, she freed my hand and hurried to the woman's bedside. She was in a tragic state and in much pain. It seemed unlikely that she would survive the night.

"Ello mommy!" She said unaware of her mother's condition. The mother turned to her daughter slowly and managed a very weak smile that seemed to satisfy the girl. "This grownup brought me here so I could see you and daddy." The woman spared a glance at me then turned back to her daughter. The girl embraced her mother not knowing the pain a simple hug brought. "Daddy's in the next room. I'm gonna go say hi." The girl raced out of this room and into the next. I saw this as a good time to leave.

"Wait please." The woman called weakly. "I am too weak and will die soon but the doctors refuse to end it." I walked towards the woman and glanced at eh machine that kept her alive.

"You wish to condemn myself a murderer." I said bluntly.

"Please, I can not continue holding on like this only to die." She pleaded. Her pleading only exhausted herself. I glanced at the machine once more then closed the door. "Thank you." She said weaker than before and fell into a deep sleep as I unplugged the machine. No noise came from it or the woman. Carefully I pushed the bed only slightly and laid the plug in front of the outlet, so it looked like the act of some clumsy nurse or doctor.

The young girl came running in moments later. "Grandma and Grandpa are coming to take me home. The doctor said you and daddy will be having a sleep over here. Bye mom!" She embraced the woman's lifeless body as I left the room into the chaotic halls.

I watched many of the victims rush past me lying dead or dying in the stretchers. I could not help but smile to see the many people finally get what they deserve. They had gone to a party with lively music to dance to, and leave to hear their own requiem mass. They had felt my hatred toward them. My many years of hate and anger burning up inside finally let out upon those who hated and feared me so.

With an amused smile, I left the hospital with my victims of a victorious night. _'Revenge is sweet.'_ I thought to myself.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: _This chapter takes many years after the prologue and starts the real story. You can skip over the prologue and go on to this chapter. Though I should have said that earlier, in the prologue. Oh well. Also, this takes place in modern times, not the 1870's. Enjoy._

**Chapter 1**

"Lot 666; a chandelier in pieces. Some of you may have heard of the Phantom of the opera." The auctioneer said with a slight smile. A few of the people shook their heads in disbelief, except two; Madame Giry and the Viscount Raoul de Chagny. There was another person hiding in the shadows which no one seemed to notice. "Perhaps we can frighten away the ghost of so many years ago, gentlemen."

The men lifted up the cloth revealing a chandelier with monkeys dancing on it while holding a music box with a Persian man. Oddly enough, this all seemed quite normal to the people as they watched the chandelier slowly rise with the monkeys. When it reached the top, the monkeys caught on fire and jumped off the chandelier screeching. The monkeys ran and lit everything and everyone on fire and soon the opera house was burning.

The man hiding stepped out calmly and walked beneath the risen chandelier. One of the people in flames came to him and turned into a super hot girl. "Chris." She said quietly at first, then a little louder. "Chris." Her eyes widened and her mouth opened completely and a loud banging noise, like a brick landing on his head and the floor, came out of her mouth.

"AAHHHH!" I yelled after waking up from a very strange dream.

I looked around at the students trying to hold in their laughter. A woman in front of me – my teacher, Mrs. Banon – was not as amused. Her short dark brown hair stopped at her neck and her green eyes staring down at me. I noticed a hammer in her hand – hammer plus desk equals the loud noise. With a slightly annoyed look she stepped away from the desk to continue teaching her class, but not before returning the hammer back to her desk.

_'I fell asleep again.'_ I thought as my friend leaned over from the seat next to me. "Haha, watchin' some late night movies now Chris?" He whispered teasingly.

"Yeah Mike, me and Charity were up all night watching horror movies." I responded sarcastically. "I'll explain later, Kay?" Mike nodded with a big grin.

The bell rang and everyone jumped out of their seats rushing for the door. Mike was one of the first people out and I was one of the last. I had finished stuffing the huge English book in my backpack when Mrs. Banon called from her desk.

"Chris, I'd like to speak with you." I threw on my backpack and walked over, well aware what she wanted to talk about. "This is the fourth time this week you've fallen asleep in class, is something wrong?" _'Other than Charity keeping me up all night talking?'_ I thought and shook my head. She sighed. "If you ever want to talk, my door is always open."

"I know, thanks Mrs. Banon." I said, leaving the class room at last.

I walked down the hall carefully avoiding the people rushing to their lockers. Mine is thankfully not too far from my last class and in a more open area, so people wouldn't be bumping into me. Since I finally have a moment, I might as well introduce myself.

My name is Christopher Daaé, but everyone calls me Chris. I'm exactly 5.5 ft tall; my sandy-blonde hair stops an inch from my chin and its parted at the side. My bangs have a small wave to them and stop above my eyebrows. People say I have a kind face; heart-shaped head is what Ashley said, or "super fashion girl" as Mike calls her. And green eyes with blue surrounding the pupil and outlining the iris. I like wearing my dark red jacket with the sleeves rolled up and a white shirt under it, along with my blue jeans which are a little baggy but they fit.

My mom died when I was 10 and my dad died a year ago. I live with Charity – the self centered woman who married my dad a year before he died – with the occasional boyfriend that lasts about a week. I spend most of my time at the old opera house and sometimes at Mike Giry's house with his parents.

The opera house shut down two months before my mom left us. It didn't stay closed but my mom wasn't able to see them open it again a year or so later. She was a singer and an actress and she'd spend a lot of time there with me and my dad. They'd tell me a lot of stories, about the opera house and the Angel. Enough of that, I'll explain more about the opera house later.

The locker next to me slammed shut and Mike was standing next to me. Mike is 18 – a year older than me – he likes to say age is something that shouldn't describe you and it's what the government **_expects_** of you – he went to jury duty. His brunette hair is spiked with blonde at the ends. He tends to wear a lot of green. Right now he's wearing a dark green T-shirt with the words "I'm the evil twin" and large black pants with a brown belt. But it doesn't help keep his pants up so we don't see his underwear. He's 5.6 1/2 ft tall with smiling dark blue eyes casting their mischievous gaze on me.

"Heya… Soooo?"

"So what?" I asked, closing my locker door.

"Exactly!" Mike exclaimed. He had this joke about "so what" he made up a few years ago. We sorta forgot the point to it. "Well, yah gonna tell me what's with the sleepy head?" He teased.

"Charity's got a new boyfriend."

"Sheesh! That lady goes through guys like a girl with purses or shoes." He had some weird expressions but most of them are pretty accurate. "So, you stayin' at my house again?"

"Yeah, I don't think I can go through another night- Oh no." I groaned. Mike looked at me confused then down the hallway.

"Oooohh! Hey, isn't that Joey B?" Mike asked. "Wittthhh- Natalie?! Wha?"

"He's been asking her out every day and she's said no each time." I replied as I watched the two talk and Joey start to get angry. "Let's go."

"Why?" Mike asked.

Natalie waved hello towards Mike and me then walked away. Joey was furious. "'Cause Joey takes his frustration out on me." I started running down the hall to my next class for safety.

As I turned the corner, Mike yelled for me to run, Joey was right behind me. Looking back I saw Joey close behind. If he didn't turn now, he'd be late for class... then he'd have _another _thing to blame on me. I got inside just as the bell rang. Joey glared at me before leaving for his class. I was safe, for now.

School was over and Mike and I were walking to his house. I had left a message for Charity – not that she'd care – if she ever figured out how to work the answering machine. She hates and loves technology. If she can't figure out how to make something work, she'll break it, and then call the repair man – one of her ex-boyfriends. Mike likes to joke about it and says she's going for a world record for most boyfriends.

Mike was talking about a movie he saw when I stopped at the entrance of the opera house. He didn't notice that I stopped until he reached the end of it, so he came running back. I was staring at the two large doors and didn't notice Mike looking at me in a weird way.

You're probably going to laugh at me now but, is there ever a moment where you hear or see something that makes you stop what ever you're doing and get lost in a memory? Well, that is what happened to me just then. I could never go by the opera house without thinking of my parents. People could talk to me for 15 minutes and I'd never hear a thing they said, a great way to get in trouble.

I woke from my dream-like state when Mike jumped in front of me yelling my name. "What?" I asked him. He shook his head laughing and rested his arm on my shoulders. "Ah, it's nothin'. Let's just go." Mike said before he started walking. I gave the opera house one last glance before leaving.

The opera house is rarely used since many people believe it's haunted. People still work there and take care of it, but only those who are either paid very well or volunteers, like me and Mike's parents. Mike and I don't believe in the opera ghost but almost everyone else does.

The story goes that a rich family came to America. The oldest daughter, Leonia, fell in love with one of the opera singers; Claude Bann. Even though her family didn't approve, they got married anyway. It is said that they had a child and Leonia died after giving birth. The family blamed Claude for their daughter's death and killed him. The baby was forgotten and died in the opera house. People say that the ghost of the baby seeks revenge for the father's unjust death and haunts the opera house, waiting for the family to come.

They're plenty of rumors why it's haunted, but that's all they are, rumors.

Along with the ghost, there's the black rose curse. You see, there are certain areas in the opera house where no one is allowed to go. Each of these places is marked with a black rose. The rose is usually painted very large on the wall or door. But there have been times where someone has found a black rose laying on the ground or on a table, finding one means that someone trespassed and now lies dead. The black rose is a forewarning to anyone else who might think of disobeying. The curse, unlike the ghost, has proven itself fatal to ignore.

"Hey, I'm home!" Mike yelled when he opened the front door. "Yo!"

The house wasn't very far from the opera house and it was one of the oldest houses on the block. Its light blue paint has been the same since day one, with white windows and window panes, a new light-grey roof, small white porch with wooden chairs and table, plants hung from the ceiling along with a wind chime and some stood on the railing.

Inside, the furniture varied from 19th century to the present day. An old grandfather clock in one room with a digital one on the coffee table, an assortment of paintings and pictures and little crafts that Mike did when he was three hung on the walls. There's a mirror in every room, each one a different size. The house is two stories but once inside it feels a lot larger.

"I 'ear yah already. Now stop yah yellin'." Yelled a gruff voice from another room. A man just over 6 feet waltzed out of the room wearing an odd costume of a dragon. When he came near us, he pulled off the head to show his face. His short brown hair and beard curled at the ends along with his smile. "Ah, I didn' know yah friend was 'ere. 'Ello Chris."

"Hi Mr. Giry." I replied as Mike pulled me into the kitchen. "Is Mrs. Giry home?"

"Not yet. She's talkin' to the managers 'bout the ghost." He laughed. "Dey didn't listn' ta' 'er yester mornin', now dey gots a warnin' from 'im." His thoughts seemed to wander for a moment but he began talking again when I started to leave. "I 'ear yah choir will be performin' at the opera 'ouse soon." I nodded. "We'll be sure tah come den' isn' dat right Mike?"

"...COOKIE!" Mike yelled from the kitchen. He poked his head out to us holding three chocolate toffee cookies. "I love you dad."

"Hey! Save some for me!" I yelled as Mike disappeared back into the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: Mike's room is based off my sister's and it really is that bad. Also, I do not own The Phantom of the Opera or King Kong, if I did it would be really weird. Enjoy and please comment._

**Chapter 2**

"I still can't believe that you're going to sing at that place." Mike continued while I walked behind him up the stairs to his room with a handful of cookies. "It feels like there's someone watchin' you."

"There's always someone watching YOU." I laughed.

"Exactly! Plus he creeps me out!" Mike exclaimed with a shudder. "That old man never leaves me alone."

"Maybe because you booby-trapped his room with water-balloons filled with ketchup and whipped cream."

"Only once." He smiled and opened the door to his room.

Mike's room was covered with posters, pictures, stickers, and anything else he could hang up or tape on the wall or dresser. There are a few light blue spots so you knew what color the paint was, for now. The room was a mess. Papers, folders, pens, markers, clothes, shoes, and a beach-ball lay on the floor. So there was little chance of walking on the actual carpet.

"...Mike. I'm sleeping in the living room right?"

"No, you're sleepin' in the guest room." He replied entering his room somehow avoiding about half of the things on the floor and making it to his bed. "Sit down." He brushed the clothes and two pairs of shoes off his bed and pointed to a large pile of clothes.

"What happened to your chair?" I asked as I stepped on a pair of jeans.

"It's still here." Rushing over to the pile of clothes and throwing them off revealing the dark blue chair. "See." He smiled and jumped on his bed.

"I do now. Has your mom seen your room yet?" I asked as I sat down.

Mike shook his head laughing. "It's not the end of the month yet."

His mom would check all Mike's room once a month. She respected his privacy for that long and let him have it this messy. But once a month was over, he'd have to clean his room which would take all day. His dad could care less about how big a mess things were as long as you could sleep. Although it did come to the point where Mike couldn't sleep in his room and moved to the guest room for a week before his mom found out.

"My room is getting close to another mom freak-out." Mike said finishing off his last cookie. Mike's idea of a freak-out – or freaky – meant funny in a weird and scary way.

Mike and I talked for another couple hours before going down stairs and getting dinner in the large dinning room with a small round table for at least five people. After dinner we watched King Kong and talked through the whole thing about the various scenes but mostly the Raptors – or T-rexs – and the giant bugs.

It was after 9:30 when the movie was over and got ready for bed. We would have waited till it was much later but it was going to take a while to find Mike's PJ's, pillows, and make it so he could just sleep in his bed. Once all that was over, it was ten minutes to 11:00. I was finally in the guest room – which was always ready for me and practically my second room. Before I fell asleep, I thought of the opera house where the choir and I were going to perform. Mike was right about there being someone watching. Who I was thinking of wasn't the old man, but something no one has ever seen.

That is no one, but me.

XXX

I spent the next couple of days avoiding Joey as much as possible. I also stayed at Mike's house for a while. I'd leave a message for Charity but I'd never get a call back – busy with her boyfriend no doubt. When it finally reached Friday, I hoped I'd be safe from Joey for the weekend, but I couldn't help be worried about tomorrow since choir was going to be performing. The real nice thing about today was that I got to leave school early for last rehearsal at the opera house.

A lot of people were worried that something bad would happen during rehearsal but nothing did. Everything went smoothly, even my solo at the end. It was after three when we finally finished and most of the students left right away while others who had to wait for their ride were out on the sidewalk. The only people from school who didn't leave the opera house were me and my choir teacher. He didn't believe in any ghost so he had no problem taking his time chatting with the stage-crew for their opinion.

I was wandering around backstage, saying hi to the few people I saw and found my way up to the catwalks where I called Mike on my cell-phone. After it rang twice I sat down and made myself comfortable, letting my feet hang over the edge. Finally Mike's dad answered the phone with his usual "Yello?"

"Hey Mr. Giry." I replied with a small laugh. "Is Mike home?"

"Ah, sorry tah say 'e isn't. Dere anyting I can do fur yah?" He added cheerfully.

"Yeah, can you tell him I won't be staying there tonight; and don't bother tying to talk me out of it 'cause my phone will be off till I call him." I said smiling, imagining the annoyed look on Mike's face when he gets this message.

"I'll do dat. Yah take care now."

"I will. Bye Mr. Giry." Even though I couldn't see it, I felt him nod before he hung up.

I put the phone back in my pocket and watched the stage-crew clean up and slowly leave. When there was only one left, I got up and walked around the catwalks to get down on the other side of the stage. I had just reached the ladder when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. Usually one would turn around quickly to see what it was, but I just ignored it, thinking it was a loose rope or my imagination.

My curiosity tugged at me hard as I climbed down. When I reached the floor I gave in and looked in the direction where it might be. To my surprise, a black thing moved just as I looked up and quickly disappeared. I had expected to see only the catwalks and a few loose ropes, not a shadow. I was a little spooked but I shook it off. I convinced myself that I was only seeing things because it was dark and I was alone. That last part didn't help me at all.

One of the props was nearby, a desk with a lit candle that had a note. As I took the note, I noticed that the ink was red and remembered overhearing the stage-crew talking about letters in red ink. Not seeing any reason to keep thinking about the red ink, I read the note.

_"Dear Monsieur Christopher Daaé,_

_If you plan on staying at the opera house tonight, I recommend the room in the western hall. I believe you will recognize it. To be sure you know of which room I speak of, there is a series red of roses painted on the door and the name Lady Daaé. I wish you a good night._

_Your obedient servant, O.G."_

At first I had guessed that Mike's dad had called Mrs. Giry and told her that there was a good chance I was at the opera house and planning on staying there like I have so many times before. But the way it was written was a little too formal for her and she doesn't even joke about the opera ghost so there was no way she'd sign O.G. I figured someone was messing with my head.

The idea of sleeping in my mom's old dressing room sounded perfect, so I headed down the western hallway and passed many rooms on the way. It was so quiet that each step I took could be heard from the other end of the hall along with its echo. I like quiet places, but this was quieter than the time Allison finished her speech on jury duty. Not one person in that room was awake, even Allison was drifting to sleep.

There were sounds coming from one of the rooms. As I neared, some of the sounds faded so the other sounds became clearer. I had to be hearing things because what was coming from the room was singing. Hearing this helped calm me down but I just had to check this out. I walked over to the door and knocked. Inside came many high pitched screams. It was hard not to laugh as I finally realized what was going on. The door knob turned and I quickly whipped the grin off my face as a very nervous teenage girl in her pajamas poked her head out.

People would make bets to come spend a night here without screaming their heads off or running out. Others would have a sleepover in this room with a scary movie to really freak themselves out. It sure looked like it was working for them.

"Hi, uh sorry if I scared you guys." I said unable to hold in the smile any longer but the girls didn't seem to mind.

"No! Of course not, right?" She laughed nervously opening the door more so I could see five other teenage girls inside agreeing with the other girl. "See?"

The music from the movie they were watching suddenly blasted and all the girls jumped with a scream. I leaned over to see the movie, The Phantom of the Opera of course. It had become very popular since it came out.

"I'll leave you to your movie then." I started to leave but the girl grabbed my wrist for a moment but quickly let go.

"Wait! W-were you singing earlier?" She asked looking around. I shook my head and looked at her quizzically. "You're sure?"

"Yeah... Something wrong?"

"We just thought we heard someone before."

"You probably heard me coming." I said hoping to reassure her.

"No. Someone was singing." The girl brought the door closer to her but managed a weak smile. "Goodnight." Quickly she closed the door. The music from the movie got louder, they had probably turned up the sound to rid any sounds from outside.

Feeling much more confident and light hearted, I continued down the hall till I reached my mother's old dressing room.

I stood outside for awhile staring at the name and the roses, lost in memories of visiting my mom after a show. _'Those days are over.'_ I thought to myself and opened the door. Again, memories of my mom flooded my mind with each glance at my surroundings. For a moment, I saw an image of my mom sitting at the vanity table. My eyes were playing tricks on me again. I walked over and put my hand on the dusked covered- Huh? There is no dust, anywhere. This was getting too weird for me.

After calming down I thought of an explanation. Someone must be taking care of this room, Mrs. Giry perhaps, or maybe an old friend or a fan. Well, I am grateful to who ever did this.

There was a large couch across from the full length decorative mirror next to the vanity table. I yawned loudly and pulled the cell-phone out of my pocket to see what time it was; five minutes to six. I wasn't tired, just bored. As if reacting to the time, my stomach growled. Out of my other pocket I pulled out some snacks I had brought; two Granola bars and a few beef sticks. It wasn't much but it would do. I leaned back in the chair in front of the vanity table as I took a bite out of a beef stick.

"Think I'll go back home tomorrow and see how Charity is doing."

Even though I called it home, it was far from it. Most of my stuff was at Mike's house and the rest in my back pack. So it wasn't much. Besides, I had lost my room almost the same day my dad died. The only reason I go back is to pack up on supplies, and to get some money I hid from her that dad gave me, but most of it was in the bank.

I was halfway through the second beef stick when I found myself staring at my reflection in the large mirror. Something about that mirror always fascinated me when I was little, but I could never remember what.

I took another bite of the beef stick and looked in the mirror again. This time, a black figure stood in the mirror along with my reflection. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw it. Quickly I turned around to see who was standing behind me. No one was there. I turned back to the mirror and the figure was gone but was replaced by the picture hanging on the opposite wall. Laughing at my mistaking a painting for a real man, I finished the beef stick and looked at the cell-phone again; 6:15.

Not sure what else to do, other than scare the girls, I got down on the couch and made myself comfortable. "Oh man. I almost forgot." I said and pulled out my cell-phone to turn it off. "Almost Mike. You almost had a chance." I said to the phone and put it on the nightstand next to the couch.

Staring into the large mirror once more, I was soon asleep. Unaware that I was being closely watched.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Mike's POV:

"_Gah! Why won't he pick up_?" I yelled at the cell-phone and the ceiling.

"Mike! Yah stop yer yellin' right now!" My dad yelled back at me from the bottom of the stairs.

"Well you're yellin' at me!"

"_Mike_!" My mom called as she made her way up the stairs. "You are not to back-talk to your father or me." Her face was almost as red as her hair. "Now why do you want to contact Christopher so badly?"

"First of all, contact? Who says contact?" I would have continued but the look on my mom's face told me not to. "I wanna know why he couldn't stay here tonight and where he went... Oh great. I sound like _his _mother." I said, tossing the phone in my room.

"It's understandable." She said with a chuckle. "I'm worried too. He has no parents and though he does have a place to live-." She stopped short with a slightly disgusted look.

"His step-mom's a jerk." I quickly added.

"That may be so." She replied seriously. "But I am sure he will come for breakfast." The door bell had rung just as she finished talking. "See." She said with a confident smile.

I hurried down the stairs and watched my dad open the door. Unfortunately, I couldn't see through my dad.

"Well, Ello young miss." He said cheerfully. "Is dere anyting I can do fur yah?"

My mom made her way down. "Stop sulking." She said and headed into the kitchen.

"Good morning sir. Would a Christopher Daaé be here?" The girl asked.

"Ah, 'fraid not young miss. But mah son is a friend of 'im." He turned to me and I reluctantly walked over to the door. "'E may be of some 'elp." He patted my shoulder and left.

I turned to the girl with a "I don't want to be here" look which quickly changed into a smile. Her semi-long reddish brown hair would be in her face if she didn't have the ruby red clips to hold it back. Her brown eyes smiled when a giggle escaped her big pink lips. With her gentle face and smooth features it was hard to guess her age, but she had to be 19 at most. She wore a black long sleeve shirt with one red rose on the left and a red skirt with high heels and a ruby red purse hung at her side.

A while has passed since my dad left us and I've been staring at her with a big grin. She cleared her throat to get my attention and smiled amusingly.

"Huh? Oh! Heya. So you know Chris?" I asked quickly.

"Yes, I do, although I'm not sure if he will remember me. It has been quite a while since we've seen each other." She replied like she was at a fancy party trying to make a good first impression.

"Cool. But how'd you?"

"Oh. How did I know to look here? I went to his previous residence-" I looked at her confused. I knew what she said it was just weird how formally she was talking to me. "and mademoiselle Charity; the wife of the late Monsieur Daaé, told me that he often goes to his friend's; the Girys." I still had the confused look when she finished which seemed confuse the girl. "Are you alright sir?"

"What is with this formal talk?" I exclaimed. "No offense but it's just I don't know _anyone _who talks like _that _anymore. Well, 'cept my mom... sometimes. And why are you calling me sir? That sounds so weird." I laughed.

The girl also laughed before she apologized. "Sorry. I am just so used to talking that way that I forget that I'm doing it."

"High class parents huh?" I joked.

"You could say that." She looked behind her for a moment at a very large white limo. "We just left one of my parents' parties."

"Uh huh... Who in the world are you anyway?" I exclaimed after realizing that I've been talking to a strange, rich, beautiful girl.

"Oh! I'm Countess Rachael de Chagny."

"Mike, Michael Gir-You're royalty?!"

Rachael laughed. "No. I'm an aristocrat."

"... You're related to an artist cat?" I replied, very confused.

Rachael laughed again, much harder this time. "No. It's a title that my family has. That's all."

"Kay. Hey you want to come in and have a cookie? They're chocolate chip and toffee."

"I'd love to but I can't. My parents are waiting for me-"

"Maybe next time then."

"Yes, maybe, and I may see Christopher."

"You're startin' to talk weird again." Rachael giggled. "How 'bout I give you his cell-phone number? That way you can let him know you're here." Quickly I pulled out my cell-phone and gave her the number, along with my own. "But don't call him today 'cause he turned off his cell." I said remembering what I was doing before.

"Thank you Micha- Mike." She corrected herself. "Good bye."

"Later." I said and watched her leave then close the door. "Man! She's hot! How'd Chris score a girl like her?"

"He's more of a gentleman than you." Mom commented from the living room.

I laughed weakly. "Funny mom, really funny." _'Too bad she's right.'_ I thought as I made my way to the kitchen. "But do I care? No!" I yelled to myself.

"Mike." Mom called from the kitchen. "If you don't come in here and get your breakfast, I'm feeding it to the dog."

"_Ahhh! Noo!_" I hurried to the kitchen to get my breakfast.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The door quietly opened and closed when I was midway through my breakfast. The only reason I even heard it is because I was listening intently for Chris. I grabbed my breakfast – I didn't trust my dad with food – and rushed to the door to see a very dazed Chris. I figured he was just tired or hungry. What surprised me was when he suddenly ran up the stairs.

I called him before running up the stairs after him. He ran into the guest room and left the door open. I stopped running when I reached the door and looked inside. Chris was sitting at a corner of the room looking at something in his hand. "You okay Chris?" I asked as I walked inside. He didn't respond so I asked again. This time he turned to me and nodded. I sighed, relieved. "Man you scared me down there. So whatcha' lookin' at?" As I leaned over to see what it was, he closed his hand. "Aw come on! I wanna see."

"I have to tell you something first and you can't tell anyone." He finally said. I sat down on the bed smiling. "It'll seem pretty farfetched though."

I shrugged. "Whatever. You have my undivided attention." Chris finally smiled but only for a moment. He opened his hand to show me a silver charm bracelet with a few charms on it. "That's it?" I asked, thoroughly disappointed.

"It belonged to my mother." He said solemnly.

"Ohhhh... sorry. So, what's up? I've never seen you take this out so somethin' must be goin' on."

"I've never told anyone this." He started. "My mom and dad would tell me stories of an angel, an angel of music. My dad saw it more as a story, while my mom truly believed it. Before she died, she said that one day, she would send the angel to me when I was ready... It came Mike."

"Seriously?" I asked. I knew Chris too well, he wasn't one to lie or make up stories about his parents. He wouldn't even do a prank on anyone! "How'd you know it's really real?" But I was still a little skeptical about this. I mean, an angel of music sent from your dead mom?

"No one but me, my mom, and dad knew about this. Also..." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a charm. It was a sheet of music and a rose. I looked at the charm then turned to Chris, waiting for an answer. "My mom said "To make sure it's your angel, you will receive the next charm for your bracelet." This is the last charm she spoke of, it even she her initials on the back!" And sure enough, it did.

"Whoa. This is getting way too SciFi Chris. Actually, it's beyond SciFi, it's _nuts!_" I exclaimed. "Good thing you never told anyone, or they'd send you to the loony bin."

"I'm not crazy Mike!" He yelled.

"I didn't say you were! I really do believe you 'kay!" We paused for a moment to calm down before talking. "Even though it's really out there... I do believe you."

Chris sighed. "Thanks Mike."

"No problem. So did you see your angel? Is it a girl and is she hot?" I quickly asked.

"Sorry but, I don't know. I only heard a voice and I thought I was asleep when I heard it."

"You gotta find out man! What if she's a major hottie?"

"And what if she is a he?" He teased.

"Don't even joke about that. Do you know how wrong that sounds?" Chris gave me a questioning look. "Of course you don't. How can you be like that in this day and age?"

"Not thinking like you and everyone else?" I nodded. "It just kinda happened."

"I think that's why you don't have and haven't had a girlfriend."

"You don't have a girlfriend either."

"Touché!" Chris laughed and so did I. "Ah, we'll get girlfriends soon, I can feel it!" I said jumping up and staring at the ceiling.

"You're so weird." I bowed making Chris laugh again. "Well, sir-" He said teasingly.

"Sir...? Ho-sheesh! I can't believe I forgot!"

Chris sat down on the bed smiling. "What'd you forget this time?"

"A girl came over about twenty minutes ago." Chris looked at me shook for a moment and laughed. "She was the weirdest yet hottest girl I've ever seen."

"You said that yesterday about the girl at the 7Eleven."

"This is different! She's a contess...ess, or somethin'."

"I think you mean Countess." Chris replied and finally showing some interest in what I was saying.

"Yeah that's it, a countess! Countess Rachael de Chagny."

"_What?!_" Chris jumped off the bed. "Rach came here?!"

"Yeah, she came lookin' for you."

"Did she say why, or how long she's staying? A-Anything?!"

"Whoa! Calm down, kay? No, she didn't say why or much else. But I think she'll be back. But she did say somthin' about you not remembering her and stuff. How do you know the goddess hottness anyway?!"

"We're old friends, and so were are parents. Man, I haven't seen her since before my mom died."

"Dang. That is long... It's what, seven years?"

"Almost ten actually." He replied half in a daze. "She still remembers me?" He slowly sat down once again on the bed as he quietly talked to himself. After a few moments of silence, I sat down next to him and looked at him curiously. "Sooooo, is she off limits?" He turned to me a bit surprised and blushing slightly. I wasn't sure if it was a yes or a no, but one thing was clear; he had or may still have a crush on this girl.

XXX

**Chris's POV:**

"Why am I here again?" Mike asked me after overlooking the crowd once more. We were at the opera house and lots of people were here.

"I need you to help me with the audition." I replied and rolled my eyes. I had explained this to him many times before but he doesn't seem to pay attention till the last minute, that or he was having fun. "We're up next, remember you only have to nod."

"Yeah I got it." He said as the people on stage left.

"Chris Daaé and Mike Giry!" called Miss Hunter, an old bitter woman with a tired and annoyed look that would make anyone back off. Her hair was shoulder length and turning gray. She was about 50 and hated being reminded of it. Her personality was that of a shark. As long as you didn't bother her or do something wrong, she'd leave you alone. If you did, you would learn a new vocabulary in a matter of minutes. Even for those with an "expanded" vocab.

"Get up here!" She yelled as Mike and I made your way onto the stage. I opened my mouth to say my line but was immediately interrupted by Miss Hunter. "You, stand-in and you understudy. Now go." She looked down at a sheet of paper and started writing.

"Uh lady." Mike took a step forward to Miss Hunter. She looked up at him without moving her head. "I'm not auditioning. I'm helping my-"

"You, stand-in, got it?" Her voice lowered to a more powerful and creepy tone. Mike nodded nervously and quickly followed me off-stage.

i"_Wow!/i_ That lady is creepy." He exclaimed once out of sight and hearing of Miss Hunter.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry you got dragged into this."

"Nah, it's alright. Now I can find out why yah like this place so much." He teased. I started laughing and Mike joined me but stopped fairly quickly. "Uh oh." Just as he said this he hid behind me and watched who he called the old man walk by.

He wasn't really all that old yet in Mike's mind he was. The man was known as the Persian. No one knew his name but he was one of the few people who actually stayed here at the opera for many years. He glanced at Mike and I as he passed by, giving Mike a "I'm watching you" look before disappearing around the corner.

"Dang, I think he has it in for me." Mike said as he came out from behind me.

"That wouldn't surprise me one bit." I joked and grabbed two scripts. "I wonder whose understudy I'll be."

"Ha! You'll be mine." A red-haired young man stood in front of us proudly waving a script at us he was holding. "But I don't see why _I_ even _need_ one." He moved a bit of his slightly curly red hair from his face to show off his honey brown eyes. He was wearing one of the costumes of French a nobleman from the 1800s.

"Who are you?" Mike's question and clueless look greatly annoyed the arrogant red head.

"How can you not know me? I am Carlos Giudicelli; the star of _every _show in this and many other operas." He waved the script in Mike's face and his other hand in the air as he spoke as if for dramatic effect. Mike continued to look at Carlos clueless. Carlos was about to snap at him but paused for a moment and smiled.

"Ah, I see now. You must be a man of low class and are unable to even _visit_ the theater until now." Mike looked even more clueless than before. "You do not matter then. Neither of you do." Carlos turned to me with a more interest. "But you, I have heard you sing. Your voice is... fair. Keep practicing and you may be able to sing with me." He turned to leave. "I _very_ much doubt it." As he left, Mike's clueless look turned to one of annoyance.

"Who does he think he is, the queen of England?" Mike exclaimed.

"No, he thinks he's the king." I replied as I watched Carlos walk away. "I'll never get on stage now."

"Yeah yah will. We just need a lil luck, or a deadly virus." Mike was half serious about it but started laughing. "Yah'll get your turn." I nodded, even though it still seemed very unlikely.


	6. Chapter 5

** _A/N: Please R&R. Comments of all sorts are welcome along with criticism which is MOST welcome. Thank you._  
**

**  
Chapter 5**

I handed Mike his script just as he asked, "So what now?" He glanced at a few pages of the script and turned to me. "What does a stand-in do anyway?"

"It pretty obvious." I replied as I went over the first scene.

"I stand." He answered with a victorious look. I grabbed his script and took to the first scene and pointed to where it said stand-ins. "Stand-ins." He read aloud. "Look happy and enjoy selves as they watch the scene unfold before them. Some may talk with others or eat the food at the table (but not all of it). Note: do _not_ bring attention to selves." His smile grew as he turned to me. "I think I like acting."

I nodded and read the title aloud. "Cyrano de Bergerac... the musical?"

"Huh? I thought this place was an opera house, for operas." Mike asked, completely ignoring my astonishment of the play turned into a musical.

"It is. A musical is an American opera." Mike looked at me with a black stare. "Anime is to Cartoon as opera is to musical." I explained with a sigh.

"Oh! Didn't we do something like that in English?" I nodded. "Wow! Three weeks of English finally make sense." He exclaimed.

"Christopher!!" Miss Hunter called. "For the last time come here!!"

"Uh oh. Later Mike!" I hurried over to Miss Hunter. "Yes Miss Hunter?"

She looked down at me with annoyance. "Is it true that you spent the night in Lady Daaé's dressing room last night?"

"Yes, I did... Is there anything wrong?"

"No. Not as long as you answer this question." She had a worried look in her eyes which started to make me a bit uneasy. "Did you hear anything out of the ordinary? Whispering threats, frightful music, or anything?"

"No, nothing. It was very quiet." This was true. For the only voice I heard seemed to come from inside my mind. "Why do you ask?"

"People who have gone to her room have heard these things. Many believe that her ghost is there haunting-"

"My mom is _not_ a ghost!" I exclaimed in anger. Even if she was, she would not haunt the place which meant so much to her!" Miss Hunter stared at me astonished that I had yelled at her. Before I started yelling again, I ran away to my mother's dressing room.

I couldn't believe these stupid rumors. Soon they'll say that my mom _is_ the supposed ghost haunting the opera house. I finally reached the dressing room and slammed the door shut. I wanted to hit something but I did not want to break anything so I hit the wall, hoping to make a hole in it. There was no hole, not even a dent. The only thing I managed to do was hurt my knuckles for hitting it so hard. I started to cry, not because of the pain, but I was angry and wanted my mom once more.

"She's not a ghost! There _is no ghost!!_" I yelled to the room and fell on the couch, wiping away a few tears.

"Christopher." A soft ethereal voice called. I looked around but I could not find where it was coming from. "Christopher." It called again. I recognized the voice from last night and got up from the couch.

"I-is it you?" I asked, looking at the walls, ceiling, and floor.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" A different voice called from the other side of the door startling me.

"Yes, come in." I sighed, relieved but disappointed as well.

The door opened and a young girl came in. She seemed oddly familiar. Her semi-long reddish brown hair would be in her oval face if she didn't have the blue clips to hold it back. Her brown eyes smiled as she saw me. With her gentle face and smooth features it was hard to guess her age, but she had to be 19 at most. She wore a blue shirt with a white floral pattern and a short white skirt with high heels. Her shape was almost too perfect, not deathly skinny which many girls yearned for. A familiar smell of the ocean with cinnamin and apples surrounded her bringing back memories of a little girl with a beautiful smile and enchanting eyes.

"Are you alright, Chris?" She asked sweetly and left the door ajar. I looked at her awed as I began to realize who this beautiful woman that stood before me was.

"Rach?" I asked with a growing smile. She nodded and giggled. "No way!" I hurried over to her and hugged her. "It's been way to long." Her arms wrapped around me as she laughed.

"Yes it has." She took a step back and examined me closely. "You used to be shorter than me." She teased. We laughed for a while and sat down on the couch and continued talking.

We talked for several hours about our childhood, funny stories and friends we meet, places Rachael had gone over the years, and what has been going on recently. Rachael had a much more interesting life; traveling from state to state and different counties as well. We talked until it was around 6:30.

"Hey, why don't you come to dinner with me?" She asked and got off the couch, excitement in her eyes.

I hesitated for a moment as I thought of how to answer her. "I- I can't. Sorry."

She looked at me confused after putting her hand on the doorknob. "Why not?"

"I need to memorize my lines for tomorrow." Although that was true, there was another reason that I felt was much more important, but I couldn't tell her. Not yet anyway. "Next time, I promise."

Rachael pouted for a moment but smiled before opening the door. "I'll keep you to your word, goodnight Chris." She teased, giving me a bright smile and closed the door.

I sat back down on the couch and sighed. Rachael was very good at making sure I keep my promises, and I made a lot. Most of them eating certain bugs or worms. After thinking about the different things I ate and keeping myself from being sick, I grabbed the script from the vanity table and turned to the first song. The song was called The Nose where Cyrano would sing all these insults about his nose to another man. It had the music so I was able to see how it would probably sound. It sounded pretty good so I got up and started singing it.

About halfway through the song I heard a soft ethereal voice echo throughout the room. It was the same one I heard before Rachael came in. I dropped the script from my surprise but quickly caught it before it hit the floor. I waited for the voice but nothing happened. After taking a few deep breaths calm myself and continued singing. The voice called again before I could finish the first line. This time it was louder but I couldn't distinguish it for a woman or man. But it was beautiful and filled the room.

"Christopher." It called once more.

"Y-yes? I'm here." I replied as I looked around the room to find where it was coming from though it seemed to come from every wall, ceiling, floor, and object. "Who are you?"

"I am your angel. Your angel of music. Do not be afraid." It said reasuringly. What fear I had vanished as the voice spoke and a calmness took over me. It was much too easy but I didn't seem to care as long as the voice spoke to me.

"You came." I said half in a dream and barely holding the script. "She said you would and you did." A tear fell as I thought of my mother's promise to me and I felt another coming. "Thank you."

XXX

The sound of people running up and down the halls could be heard along with a person running after them and yelling playfully, "Come back here!" Slowly I opened my eyes and stretched but stopped when I almost fell of the bed. No, it was the couch in my mother's dressing room. I got up and tossed the blanket to one end as I started to wake up.

"How did I get here?" I asked my reflection in the full length decorative mirror. "Oh that's right." I went over the events of last night and the overwhelming moment of the Angel. It told me that I would receive singing lessons every evening starting tomorrow. I wanted to ask it so many questions but found myself wandering toward the couch as it sang a soft melody and soon drifted to sleep.

"Rest now, so you may take this evening in and be ready for tomorrow." Was the last thing it said.

My stomach growled loudly. I remembered that I did not have dinner last night and it was already past 8:00 am. Thankfully everyone apart of the musical was given the week to go over their lines so I would be able to take my time with breakfast. I turned to the vanity and opened one of the drawers and a secret compartment where I hid the charm bracelet. The new charm I had received hung in the middle.

Knowing it would be very weird for a guy to be wearing a charm bracelet, I attached it to the belt loop of my pants. That way there was less chance of people seeing it and asking questions. Although I loved my mom and the bracelet she left for me, I didn't like bringing her up in conversation too often. Plus, it was a lil embarrassing and I didn't need to be teased about it.

After locking the room and setting the key in my pocket, my stomach growled again and I quickly headed for the kitchen.

While I ate my breakfast, I thought about telling Mike. Something told me I should but something even louder told me it was a bad idea. My cell rang just when I was about to decide whether or not to tell him. I looked at the display and almost laughed before answering.

"Hey Mike."

"I actually looked at the script!" He exclaimed, apparently very excited about what he read. "This story is awesome! Now I wish I didn't sleep through English." Mike went on about the sword fights and how he was going to convince Miss. Hunter to let him be in one. "So, your angel come see yah?" He asked with a hint of mischief in his voice. I didn't want to know what he was thinking.

"Actually." I paused to look around. No one was in the kitchen. "Yeah, and Rach came over too."

"The goddess of hotness came! You are lucky Chris." I looked at the phone curiously. "She's gotta like you. Guess that blows my chance of getting a date with her."

"Mike. I'm not dating my oldest friend."

"She's old!" He exclaimed. I sighed, seeing that Mike had gotten the wrong idea. "Dang, I thought she was 19. How old is she?"

"20. And by old I mean how long I've known her!" It was hard not to laugh.

I could almost see the sly smile on his face as he replied. "So she's available. Niiicce."

I hung up and laughed. The idea of me dating Rachael sounded weird but Mike dating her was hilarious. At least they'd have a fun time. I tried to push the thought aside but it kept coming back. _'What if I did date her? Does she want to?'_ My thoughts were interrupted when Sorelli came in with Jammes hurrying behind her.

Sorelli was half Italian which could be seen in her features and chocolate brown eyes. She was about four years older than me and looked very mature. She had the perfect figure for a ballerina, but wasn't super skinny like some. The light blue dress went down past her knees with short sleeves. The dress complimented her figure beautifully. Her straight dark brown hair stopped below her shoulders.

Jammes hazel eyes were complemented by his short light brown hair. He was a year younger than Sorelli but looked about three years younger than her. He wore a black shirt with a full white mask, a rose and the words "The Phantom of the Opera". A blue jacket was tied around his waist just above his dark blue jeans.

"Well it's about time. Looks like I win Jammes." She laughed. At first I was afraid she had overheard my conversation with Mike. "I heard you auditioned." She pointed to the script on the table. Jammes went through his pocket and pulled out ten dollars, handing it to Sorelli with a small frown.

I tried not to look too relieved that they didn't hear my conversation. "Yeah, but I'm only an understudy."

Sorelli scoffed. "Miss. Hunter is the worst."

"She's creepy." Jammes quickly added.

Sorelli gave Jammes a quick glare before continuing. "If she hasn't heard of you, you're an understudy."

"Who for anyway?"

I sighed. "Carlos Giudicelli."

"That's terrible!" Sorelli exclaimed and went on how stuck up that boy was to herself.

"Sorry man." Iooked at Jammes curiously. "Carlos _never_ gets sick or has any reason not to perform. Plus if he does, they cancel the whole thing till he's better. Looks like you're doomed as his understudy."

I shrugged and glanced at Sorelli who was still rambling on. "That's OK. I haven't had much practice anyway."

"Are you kidding?!" Sorelli yelled. "You're a great actor and an amazing singer! You should at least get the chance to show everyone."

"I will, eventually." I smiled, grabbed my cell and script then headed out.

"He's doomed. Doomed as an- Ow!" Sorelli hit Jammes before he could finish.

XXX

The day seemed to drag on. Minutes became hours the the hours became days. I was excited for my first singing lesson with my angel. The more I thought about it, the more I thought of what Mike said. '_What did she look like? Was she beautiful?'_ Thousands of images ran through my mind of what the angel would look like. As the images came and went, I ran into someone and knocked us both over. It probably wasn't the smartest thing for me to daydream and walk at the same time.

"Sorry, I wasn't-"

"Yeah you better be sorry!" Said an angry and sadly all too familiar voice. Joey looked at me and smiled. "Well now, if it isn't Chris. You know, Joey hasn't given you his daily greeting yet. Joey wonders why."

"That's because Joey is talking in third person again." I quickly mocked him as I got up and ran.

"Huh... Hey! Don't you go makin' fun of Joey- my talking!" He yelled after me.

After an hour, I had managed to outsmart Joey. Which wasn't very hard to begin with. Even Mike could outsmart Joey. I had made my way to the bathroom on the far side of the opera house. I moved away from the door with a quick chuckle and froze. The bathroom was cleaner with a floweral pattern. I was in the girl's bathroom. Luckly for me, no one was in here.

So of course once I started to relax, the door opens. I had thought of an excuse of why I was here but wasn't able to give it since a girl ran past me and into one of the stalls. _'That was easier than I had expected.'_ I thought and made my way to the door before she came out or realized I was here.

"This _is_ the _girl's_ bathroom right?" The girl asked.

I turned to the stall where she had gone to and paused before answering. "Yeah."

"Okay." She said happily. "Just wanted to make sure I was in the right one. Thanks."

"No problem." I laughed quietly.

Before advancing any further, I poked my head out of the bathroom making sure Joey was gone. The rest of the day was fairly quiet. I spent most of my time backstage talking to the stagecrew, actors, and anyone else who came by. The stagecrew would talk a lot about the phantom and how the managers refuse to believe he exists.

I may not believe that there was any phantom but it was nice to hear what was going on. Plus I liked hearing their stories. Fiction or not, they always have stories to tell and I'd listen.

XXX

I hurried to my mom's dressing room as fast as I could. The angel had said 8:15 pm today and I was already late. Mike came and was found hanging upside down tied in various ropes. I didn't dare ask him what he was doing since the ropes should have been out of his reach. He did say something about a lasso, but I had left before he could continue.

After reaching the dressing room and closing the door behind me, I fell on the couch. I had ran from the stage all the way here, n ot wanting ot be any later.

"Made it." I breathed.

"Being late is not making it." The angel's voice echoed. "It looks like we'll need to work on you being on time as well."

I jumped from the couch. "Sorry, my friend got stuck."

"I see. Alright."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Being here, and helping me."

A pause. "Lets get started, shall we?"


	7. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I had writers block. :-P So when I got writing on it again, I added a random scene I thought about before. Crazy phan girls. I still don't know why I put it in there. Anywho, enjoy. Tell me what you liked about it, please.**_

**Chapter 6**

It was half past 12(pm) and time for rehearsals. I had called Mike to make sure he wouldn't forget or remember at the last minute and be late. When I finished the call I had to hurry or I'd be late. I heard Miss. Hunter was amazingly cruel to anyone that was late. I turned the corner and nearly avoided running into Carlos who seemed to be taking his sweet time walking.

"Hey Carlos." I said as I tried to make my way around him.

"Ah!" He spun around with a smile. "You've heard of me. But of course, who hasn't?"

"Yeah, I just met you yesterday, remember?" I had finally found an opening so I could pass him but he quickly blocked it. With a sigh I resigned myself to the spot I stood.

"Yes, the stand-in, Keith?" Though it was a question, he made it sound more like a statement.

"It's Chris." I said politely as I imagined various things dropping on him for his arrogance. "And I'm your understudy. Mike is-"

"You don't look like a Chris to me. You're more of a..." He quickly interrupted, not caring what I had to say. "It doesn't matter since your name will not be known to anyone but me and your friend." He waved his hand with a shrug. It took a lot of willpower not to wipe that smug smile off his face or send him flying backwards down the hall.

Somehow I managed a small smile and quickly changed the subject. "We need to get going. Rehe-"

"Do not worry." He said with a laugh. "I am the star so they can not begin if I am not there." The urge to see his head rolling on the floor got stronger every time he spoke but I doubt Miss. Hunter would be happy if her Cyrano was headless. "So come, walk with me, talk with me and no harm will come." With a smile to me, he moved his hand down the hall for us to walk.

This was unexpected and I started to rethink my first impression of him. Maybe he's not so bad. So I nodded and we walked down the hall together to the auditorium where rehearsals were being held. We actually had a pleasant conversation about the play and the character Cyrano. Finally we reached the doors and I was about to walk in but Carlos stopped me.

"Christopher." He began. I had asked countless times to call me Chris but he refused. "Let me do the talking, alright." He smiled and opened both doors. "Good day everyone!" He called out to the people on the stage and Miss. Hunter in one of the seats. His voice bounced off the walls of the auditorium to every corner and ear there was. I stood just behind him and my ears were ringing.

"Mr. Giudicelli. It is about time you-" She paused to look behind him so she could see me rubbing my ears. "And Mr. Daaé I see."

"Please forgive me Madame." He quickly made his way down the aisle to Miss. Hunter and took her hand. "But young Christopher insisted that we take our time." Young, just how old is he? "Though I was completely against it, he would not leave me be."

Even from where I was, I could hear him clearly and couldn't believe that I started to change my mind about him. I was his excuse for being late from the start. I would have strangled him but I doubt a murder scene would bring the right publicity to the theater and Miss. Hunter was in the way. She turned to me with a stare that would have made grown men shudder with only a glance. My head said run but my legs refused to move. She slowly made her way towards me until we were face to face.

"You are still here only because Mr. Giudicelli has requested that you stay." I would have glared at Carlos if I could turn away from her frightful gaze. So many images passed through my mind as I looked into her eyes. Things she has done, things I have heard, and what she wanted to do to me if she could without getting arrested. "So you are to help him and do whatever he asks of you." My mouth opened to protest. "In my view, you are no longer apart of this." She moved her hand to the people on the stage. "You are to stay backstage and return your script at once!" She demanded and held her hand out to me.

The rumors of her cruelness did her no justice. With a sigh I handed her the script, and with it, my chance to be on the stage and perform. I walked down the aisle with my head held high, not letting any sign of weakness show. Carlos got up from his seat to walk with me to the stage. "You must understand. My previous servant has... retired and you are perfect for the job until my mother finds me a new one." He smiled like he had done me a favor before running up to the stage.

I got to hang out with Mike for the rehearsal and listen to him come up with ideas of how to torture Carlos for a while then about the play and other things. Every so often Carlos would complain about the people around him and that they can not keep up with him or something like that. I was trying not to pay attention to him, and that's not easy. He was very good at making himself known and the center of attention. Rehearsals were finally over at 4:00 pm and Miss. Hunter let us go.

"Oh Chris I can't believe what happened." One girl said as she hurried off stage to me with her friends following behind her. "That's absolutely terrible!" Another said with an angry glare at Carlos. "I wish we could do something." They went on talking and wishing and sparing an angry glare at Carlos.

"Stop it!" I yelled. The girls looked at me surprised at my reaction. "I don't need your pity or your stupid wishes or anything! Just leave me alone!" I walked off stage as calmly as possible leaving the girls standing dumbstruck as they watched me. Everything would have been fine if Carlos kept his mouth shut.

"Christopher. I did not mean to make you lose being an understudy." He began once I had passed him. "Not that it matters. You had no chance of ever seeing the stage-" He wasn't able to finish that sentence. Carlos fell to the floor rubbing the bright red spot where my fist landed. Everyone turned to Carlos and me with awed and shocked expressions.

"I don't give a rat's behind who you are and what you have to say. All you've done is insult me and get me into trouble. I'm tired of you and I'm not going to be you petty servant." Carlos stared up at me amazed at what I had done. Miss. Hunter started to come up to me with a finger in the air. "And you," I said turning to Miss. Hunter. "You make your own choices without giving anyone a chance just because their new." She stared at me dumbstruck. "Know what, forget it. Neither of you are worth it." Turning on my heel I made my way up the aisle.

"Go Chris!" Mike yelled in approval and earned a nasty glare from Miss. Hunter telling him to be quiet. I smiled as I imagined the look on Mike's face after receiving that glare. The moment I walked out the door the whispering and chattering started, as if little fires had been lit. It was oddly amusing to hear them though I couldn't make out the actual sentences.

When I turned to leave I saw the Persian watching me with curious eyes. I smiled and bowed my head instead of verbally saying hello but didn't expect him to respond in any way. You can imagine my surprise when he also bowed his head and taking the hat off his head as he did so. Never had I seen him show any gesture of acknowledgement to anyone and here he was saying hello to me. _'This day couldn't get any weirder.'_ I thought and turned away from the Persian to leave.

"After your little performance, I may be able to convince the new managers to fire that woman."

I turned back to the Persian and tried to keep my self from staring. "Wa- Seriously?"

He nodded with an amused smile. "They are unafraid of the Phantom so I don't think Miss. Hunter will be a problem." I thought about the old manager and how he seemed to fear the opera ghost along with Miss. Hunter. Now she is frightening.

"Thanks, Old man." I smiled mischievously. I've been pushing my luck from the moment I punched Carlos and I was surprised to still be alive when I snapped at Miss. Hunter so I figured I had one more push left before I got myself a mile deep into trouble. The Persian sighed at hearing his "nickname" with a thoughtful look. Thinking about Mike no doubt, since he gave him that name from the first day he saw him.

"Your welcome, young boy." I frowned. "How about we make a deal, I'll call you by your name and you call me by mine."

"OK. I'm Christopher Daaé, call me Chris."

"My name is Nadir Khan, pleased to meet you Chris." He seemed a bit distracted for a moment when he bowed his head. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must go." He hurried off and behind the door on the left just as he finished. Something was odd about him, he was nice enough but I finally started to understand why Mike felt uncomfortable when he was around. It was this feeling of being watched by unseen eyes or he knew more about you than anyone.

As it turns out, Miss Hunter _was_ fired the next day and Mr. Lefévre got his old job back. You see, Miss Hunter was originally filling in for him when he was sick back she refused to give up the job without taking Carlos with her. So the managers let her keep the job so they could have Carlos. This time around when she threatened the new managers, Carlos refused to leave with her so she had no leverage over them.

Since Mr. Lefévre was in charge now, I was no longer Carlos's servant – not that I ever was since I never agreed to it – and I got to practice with everyone else. Carlos was sore about it for a couple days but once he got his new servant – a random fan girl – he didn't care anymore. Mike and I were amazed that anyone liked him. The fan was definitely _random_, I say random because no one had ever seen this girl before today and usually people who love the arts tend to come and make themselves known. By known I mean shown out of the auditorium very loudly.

Rachael and her father would come visit during rehearsals now and then to talk to the managers and see how things were going. Rachael would quite often wander away to converse with me and Mike until her father called her back for whatever reason he had. She'd offer me breakfast, lunch, and most commonly dinner every day. I'd say yes to breakfast and lunch but never dinner since I'd try to send as much time as possible with my angel and besides, there was a rule of getting too close to a girl since it would throw off my concentration.

Of course I had told my angel everything that happened once the singing lessons. It was really nice to talk to someone and know they won't tell anyone. Mike has a big mouth. Every day I'd wonder more and more about the angel and every day I wanted to ask a question but couldn't bring myself to do it. I was afraid it would be a sign of lack of faith and then the angel would leave. I had to ask though.

Two days before opening night, after the lesson, I finally gained the courage to ask. "Angel?" I started, waiting for a reply before continuing.

"Yes Christopher, I am still here." The voice answered.

Taking a deep breath I sat at the vanity table thinking of the question over and over again. "Why did you choose someone like me even though there are so many other possible and better candidates?" After a moments pause, I closed my eyes to listen for the angel's voice once I had asked. Not to determine where the angel might be since I have tried that countless times before and it's near impossible.

"You have a talent unlike any I have ever seen and that shall be shown to everyone when you play Cyrano." The angel said which seemed much closer than ever before. I sighed. "You _will_ play Cyrano, so do not worry yourself about Carlos." With a nod, I opened my eyes half expecting to see a person before me. I couldn't being a little disappointed that no one was there.

"Will I ever see you?" I finally asked. I was almost sure I heard a sigh. Almost like the angel knew that I would someday ask this question and probably disappoint me. A minute passed and I got up from the vanity table, guessing that the angel had left.

"Someday." The angel replied. I turned around with a smile unsure where to look so I closed my eyes once more.

"I look forward to that day."

Another pause. "Good night Chris."

The next day, Mike said I was invited to a party that a bunch of girls were having in the evening. I would have said no but Mike persisted on me going for over an hour until I finally gave in. Mike had once time went on about something for 4 hours. I think it was about a pet. He got the pet – a fish – which ended up dying within the week. He is sure his mom planned it somehow.

Ten minutes before the party I left the dressing room after explaining that if I didn't go what Mike would do to me and was ready to call him on my cell when he almost bumped into me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"What do you mean? The party is here." Mike explained with a large grin. I sighed knowing Mike's forgetfulness and how he sometimes chose to forget things. "Anyway, we need to get you into something less formal." He said examining my clothes I wore – a button up shirt with a blue tie and dress pants. "This is a party were goin' to, not church." We went back inside and I changed into a black T-shirt and blue jeans.

We came to the girls dormitories where there was a TV. Inside were a group of girls, some of them I recognized, all in either very casual wear or clothes that looked a lot like PJs. One of them wore a shirt with "The Phantom of the Opera" on it and another wore a white half mask. Two girls were gazing lovingly at a phantom plush toy paying us no heed. One of the girls, a blonde in a white T-shirt and dark blue pants, came up to us with a smile.

"Glad you both came." She said. "I'm Megan, the red head with the phantom T-shirt is Anna, The toy with the Phantom toy are Valerie and Sophie, and that's Kathy. We have two more, Gina and Rachael, but Rach's changing."

"Rachael? Y-you mean Rachael de Chagny?" The girl nodded. I glared at Mike. "Why didn't you tell me she'd be here?"

"I didn't know!" He raised his hands like a gun was being pointed at him threateningly. I sighed and sat down on a bed. Mike put his hands down and turned to the blonde with a smile. "We gunna watch that movie or what?"

"What movie?" I asked and glanced at the girls sitting around the TV. The two with the doll took turns hugging it and sighing.

"Were going to watch ALW's The Phantom of the Opera." I stared at the red head girl, Anna, and then turned to Megan and Mike. "We've all seen it but _love_ to watch it over and over."

"Is it good?" I asked. All the girls gasped in unison and stared at me wide-eyed. "What?" I've seen the play and read the book but wasn't as interested in seeing the movie.

"It is the most awesome movie ever!" One girl said. "Gerard Butler is in it!"

"Who now?" This conversation went on for about five minutes. Girls freak out and try to explain why Gerard makes the perfect phantom and his voice while I asked about the story and if it was good. It seems none of them had read the book nor did they care. The movie started and Christine and Raoul were together in the dressing room when the door opened and two girls came in.

The first was the girl I had seen before when I had accidentally found myself in the girl's bathroom. She had an interesting hair style, her dirty blonde ran past her shoulders and close to her waist with two blonde stripes in the front and two in the back. She wore a white T-shirt with a picture of Indigo Montoya with the words, "I do not mean to pry, but you don't happen to have six fingers on your right hand." Rachael was wearing what looked like a 19th century night gown with a corset and stockings. Mike got up with lots of complements and looked like a dog eyeing a juicy stake.

I cleared my throat, making myself known and to calm Mike. "Hey Rach."

Rachael turned to me then her face went pink. "H-hi Chris."

The girls exchanged glances as they looked at me and Rach with sly smiles. If I didn't know better, I'd think they planned this. "OK Chris, It's your turn." I turned to Kathy who had some clothes neatly folded in her arms. "I think this is your size." She handed me the clothes with a large grin. They _did_ plan this. I was going to refuse but Mike pushed me out and into another room to change.

I came out about 5 minutes later after changing into what I believe was the Phantom/Erik's outfit – mask included. The girls' excitement grew when I came into the room with Mike. Rachael was one of the few who stayed calm and smiled. The movie was on pause and you could see two hands – a woman's and a man with a black glove. I started to get the idea of what was going on.

"You know the main song right?" Megan asked. I nodded and turned to Rachael who also nodded. "Good. We'll have the captions on incase you guys mess up though." She grinned as she pressed play and the music began. Rachael got up and turned to the screen waiting for her cue. The moment Christine started singing, so did Rachael. I was pleased to see that she had been practicing over the years. She would turn to me every so often but would quickly turn away with a little more red in her cheeks.

It was my turn now. I got into position, turned to the screen, and opened my mouth but was thrown off when the Phantom started singing. It was not what I had expected at all. Catching myself at the next line, I started singing half looking at the screen and half at Rachael who resigned to her seat for now. I was surprised when Christine hit the high E in the movie. Rachael didn't try to hit it and I didn't blame her. The song was over and I sat down next to Mike and refused all requests to sing the next song.

Glancing at Rachael, I noticed she seemed a little tired. "Are you OK?" I asked as I stood by her. She looked up at me with a weak smile which quickly faded.

"It's the corset." She said panting slightly. "I had no idea it was so constricting." She glanced at Gina who was mouthing the words to the song then back to me. "It's my fault though. I told her to-"

"It's a little too low." I said after glancing at the corset. "Stand up." Rachael slowly stood up and turned her around to fix it. Loosening the strings I pulled the corset up making Rachael gasp quietly. "It should be better now." I said as I tied the strings. She had turned a bright red when she faced me. I would have asked her if she was alright but Mike called me back.

"You have no idea what just happened do you?" He asked as I sat down. "You were _so close!_" Mike put his head in his hands with a queit whine. We watched the rest of the movie with few inturuptions with the exception of the girls singing and when I started laughing when the Phantom's mask came off. _'That's no distorion! It's a sunburn.'_ I thought to myself. Overall, the movie wasn't... bad. I decided to leave as soon as possible to avoid questions from the girls.

"Chris." Rachael called after me after she also left the room. I turned around to her her waiting in front of the door biting her lip. "Uh, nevermind." She said before going back inside a little more pink than before. Never have I ever seen Rachael blush so easily before. I dismissed the the thought and went to my mom's dressing room to rest.

"Tomorrow's the big day." I said to myself.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: So I REALLY wanted to do something different than the _"I am your angel of music. Come to me angel of music."_ I don't think it fit Chris very well either. I like how I got him there. ;D****  
**

**Chapter 7**

"It's only a couple hours til show time!" Mike exclaimed. We were going to the last dress rehearsal and Mike was really excited. "After this, I'll make my way up to stand-in number 1."

"I didn't know the stand-ins were numbered." I gave him a curious look.

"Well, they're not." He replied. "That doesn't matter! Since I'll work my way up, and soon, instead of the poster saying _Starring Carlos Giudicelli_, it'll say _Starring Christopher Daaé_!"

"What?" I stopped a little surprised that he didn't say Mike Giry. "Why me?"

"'Cause you're an awesome singer and actor." He paused for a dramatic pose.

"You have a great talent too."

Mike looked at me seriously and shook his head. "Yeah, but that's my mom's fault for getting me into ballet." I laughed. Although he may never admit it, he is really good enjoys it. "Alright Mr. "I'm never going to perform". How 'bout we make a deal? Once you get the lead role and it says your name on the poster, I'll do ballet here."

"Deal." We shook each others hand nodded then thrusted our shoulders together. "Ow, we need to come up with a different handshake." Mike nodded rubbing his left shoulder.

It seemed everyone was excited about today. The dress rehearsal went perfectly except that Carlos seemed a little nervous and always looking around when he was onstage. Mike's theory was he finally got a threatening letter to leave and never return or all his hair would be cut off. I had to stifle a laugh so I wouldn't get in trouble. Eventually he excused himself so he could talk with the managers once they came to watch. So I got to fill in for him for the rest of it. Just when Roxanne was about to realize who really wrote the love letters, one of the mangers shouted. We would have continued and ignored them but the shouting didn't cease. Everyone turned their attention to the three. Carlos was shouting back at them and ran down the aisle leaving the managers where they stood, looking very flustered.

Andre was rubbing his forehead as he listened to Firmin. No one was sure what had happened and why Carlos would run off. Some people were already chattering quietly to the person next to them and quite a few mentioned the phantom. Mike decided to take this "opportunity" to scare a few girls. He got up behind the one talking about the phantom then grabs their shoulders. The girls jumped with a shriek that reminded the managers of the people on stage. Mike would have gotten in trouble if the managers didn't call for everyone's attention.

"We have some bad news." Andre began, his hand holding his head. "It seems that due to certain circumstances, Mr. Giudicelli will not be able to perform."

"A full house!" Firmin said loudly to Andre. "We'll have to refund a _full house!_" Hearing this, everyone started mumbling and groaning until someone decided to ask why. "It seems that Carlos is ill."

"He seemed fine before." One of the "murderers" said. Obviously he wasn't paying attention or he's notice how on edge Carlos was.

"The show will be canceled then?" "Roxanne" asked.

"It appears that way doesn't it?" Andre replied with a sigh.

Mike, who had been smiling for some reason, ran tot the edge of the stage to speak up. "He has an understudy!" He yelled. Everyone turned their eyes on him with eager expressions. A few people turned back to the person next to them and started talking quietly. I would have said something but was too shocked at what was happening. "Oh come on! You don't remember?" All was quiet.

"Just tell us who it is boy!" Firmin ordered. Mike frowned and Firmin sighed as he searched through his memory for the right name. "Mr. Giry."

With a confident smile he ran to me, grabbed my arm, and dragged me to the front of the stage. "Christopher Daaé!"

At that very moment, it seemed the little switches decided to turn on as everyone (except Andre and Firmin, who never even met me until this moment) remembered that Carlos did have an understudy and I was it. Andre turned from the stage as Firmin debated on whether I should fill in for Carlos. Mike was getting very impatient.

"Yo, old dudes!" He yelled. To my surprise they turned around to face him like it was normal for them to be referred as such. "He's good, a lot better than Carlos. Give him a chance. It's better than nothin' right?"

"The boy has a point." Firmin began. Mike didn't like to be referred as a boy. "This way we'll still have our show." Andre smiled to see that his companion had finally relaxed. "Alright, the show is in two hours, get ready." He waved his hand dismissing the people on stage.

The expression on my face never changed. I still looked like I had seen Andrew Lloyd Webber walk in along with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman dressed as the Phantom and Christine with one thought running through my mind. _'What the angel said is true. I'm going to play Cyrano de Bergerac'_ Mike finally woke me from my thoughts when he reminded me that we had to get ready. We only had so much time to resize the costumes so it would fit.

It was fifteen minutes until 7:00 pm and I was in my mom's dressing room talking with my angel. "This is amazing." I exclaimed, already in my first costume. "You were right!" Laughing, I fell into the seat in front of the vanity table. "Still I can't believe he got sick."

"You were meant to play Cyrano. That is why Carlos could not perform." There was something about the way the angel said it that made me feel a little uneasy.

"He's not _really_ sick, right? I mean, he has a cold or something. Nothing bad."

"Of course."

With a sigh, I relaxed in the chair. "Man, this is so awesome." After saying man, I remembered a question that often entered my mind when I thought about the angel. I tensed a bit before speaking. "Hey, this may sound really weird but..." I paused, certain I was starting to blush. "Are you a guy?" There was an awkward silence which I really wish would end.

"No."

"So angels _do_ have genders?" Each time I spoke, I wish I hadn't but felt better when ever the angel answered.

"Yes."

Now the big question. _'Hold on, if the other questions weren't big, what were they?'_ "Do angels have names?"

"Yes." This one was answered what seemed to be a lot sooner than the others. "Erika."

"Erika." I breathed the name as I relaxed once more. "It's nice to be able to call you by your name. Erika" I said it once more to make sure I remembered.

"You should go. They can not start with out you."

I glanced at the clock and jumped from the chair. It was five minutes till 7:00. "Oh man! I gotta go." I grabbed the hat from vanity table and put it on my head. "Wish me luck?"

"Of course Christopher."

I chuckled quietly. "You know you can call me Chris."

"Yes, I know."

"Yeah." I paused at the door. "I'll see you later then." As I closed the door I thought I heard, "So shall I."

I thought about that simple statement as I hurried down the halls till I finally reached backstage. Mike was waiting for me dressed in his costume. I had arrived just in time and quickly got on stage before the curtain went up. Since I was in a far off spot away from where everyone's attention was focused, I was able to look at the audience. It was a full house. Even box five was filled. _'Wait, that's the ghost's box!'_ I thought as I focused on the couple sitting together. They seemed a bit on edge and the woman started leaving with the man following behind. I wouldn't have thought much of it but usually people would stay for the first act.

Soon it was time for me to criticize the man on the "other stage". The moment I started speaking, I had this strange feeling of being watched. Sure the audience had turned their attention to me once I came out of "hiding" but it wasn't them. It wasn't stage fright. I had been on stage singing with the choir at school and I've never been afraid of people watching me. I was used to it. Usually I completely forget that there is anyone watching. So this was pretty weird.

For a moment I figured I was being paranoid but I was scared. In fact, I was even more relaxed than before. I was able to spare a glance at one of the boxes and noticed Rachael along with someone else. I almost smiled but quickly remembered where I am and turned to the actor I was criticizing.

Cyrano died and the curtain fell and the audience started applauding, whistling, and calling for more. I sat up as I thought of the performance and when I had first started singing. I was amazed at what happened. Everyone on stage had to wait a minute for the applause to die down before we could continue. Mike reminded me that the curtain was going to rise so we could take a bow so I got up and hurried to the line of people behind the red and gold curtain which rose as soon as I found my place. As we bowed, I glanced at the box where I saw Rachael but she was gone. The curtain lowered again and I hurried off stage and almost ran into Rachael.

"Rach! Hey, I can't believe you came." I said. Rachael laughed and shook her head.

"Well of course I came." She took a breath before speaking again. "You were amazing Chris. My brother and I- well, I was hoping you'd like to join us for dinner."

"I'd love to but." I paused and Rachael sighed. "I can't. I'm pretty tired now, sorry, maybe another time."

Rachael smiled slyly. "Alright. I _will_ get you to come to dinner with me, even if I have to kidnap you." She teased.

"I'll remember that. Later Rach." I hurried past her and made my way down the hall. I wanted to get to Erika as soon as I could to find out if she was pleased with my performance. I was going round a corner when someone grabbed my arm. Before I had time to react, I was blindfolded and gagged. Two people were holding me back and trying to keep me from struggling. I stopped when I felt an object against my throat.

"Well, it's about time you showed up." Joey said from in front of me. "Were going on a little field trip. I bet you wonder where." I nodded slowly. "O nothin' much, just past the third cellar."

I would have gasped if possible but the cloth kept me form doing so. The two people holding me gave me a push to get me moving. Every so often they'd spin me around so I wouldn't know where we were. "Were not doin' anything bad right?" One of the guys asked. "Nah. Just gonna scare him up a bit." Joey responded with a laugh. We stopped for a moment and I could feel the hands holding me shaking. I started to wonder if they believed there was a ghost. They spun me around a couple times before continuing. One of them stopped and was shaking even more.

"What'd yah stop fer?" The guy on the right asked. "I-I th-thought I s-saw somethin'." He responded. There was a groan and heavy footsteps came towards the one on the left. "Idiot." Joey started. "There ain't nothin' here. It's all stupid stories to scare people." He wasn't convinced. I could still feel him shaking. "Come on yah idiots." Joey started to walk away but the guy on the right screamed. He quickly let go of me a moment later. "Th-th-there!" I tried to look around but could still only see black. "See!" I could hear him running back the way we came but he stopped. "Holy-" The other one began but was interrupted be a scream from behind. "It's the ghost!" "No way." The one who was holding me pushed me aside and I fell to the ground and onto something. There was screaming and I could here them running back and forth. Someone was gasping for air and another was running away.

Soon, all was quiet. I was too afraid to move and hoped that who ever was there would leave me alone. Time seemed to slow as I sat there waiting for someone or something to find me. There were some quiet footsteps coming back. The person stopped for a moment before heading towards me. I felt a warm breath against my face as two hands made its way around my head. A moment later, the cloth that covered my mouth was off.

"Shhh. Don't be afraid." A soft beautiful voice spoke. "You're safe now." A hand touched my cheek but only for a moment. The voice sounded very familiar. "Take off the blind fold and leave."

"Wait." I reached out my hand for the person and managed to grab a part of their clothing. "Who are you?" Sure it was kinda obvious I wasn't going to get an answer but I had to try. "Why do you sound so-"

"That does not matter." The voice interrupted. "You must leave. Or I shall make you."

I let go of the clothing and started to untie the blindfold. Once it was off, I looked around for the person. I managed to catch a glimpse of a person running further into the cellar. I looked back at the exit for moment before running after the cloaked figure. The person ran at an amazing speed so it was hard to keep up. I could only see the cloak waving behind as he – I'm only guessing that the person is in fact a he – ran down the dark passageway. Sometimes it looked like he slowed down and looked back at me to see if I was still running after him.

Running down the stairs slowed me down a bit and soon I realized I was in the 4th cellar. Every so often I had to dodge a low beam or something on the floor which I would almost trip over. If I did trip, the person would stop and look at me. The moment I started running again, so did he. It was almost like he wanted me to follow him. Why was I even following this person? It could've been anyone. Maybe even the opera's "ghost". Still, something told me that I had to find out who it was, so I kept running.

"This is nuts." I said to myself and jumped over a large lump. "That's gross." It was a dead rat, and a _big_ one at that. I was still running as I gazed at it. As I turned to look up to see where I was going, I hit one of the low beams and fell the ground with a loud thud. I groaned quietly as I slowly tried to get up. "Oh great."

My surroundings started to get out of focus and fade once I sat up. The person I was chasing was walking towards me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stay up and eventually fell to the ground again. As the person got closer, everything got darker and soon all I could see were shapes and the figure bend down in front of me. "Hmh." The person said as I lost consciousness a moment later.

I got up with a quiet groan and rubbed my head which was still aching, though it felt a lot better than before. I began to wonder how much time had passed when I realized I was no longer on the hard cold floor. Instead, I was in a large ornamental bed. The posts were carved with smooth lines and shapes all the way to the top and held a canopy which had the same smooth patterns. The canopy went to the floor and prevented me from seeing the room I was in though I could make out some shapes. The blankets and canopy had various colors of blues along with some gold and the bed itself was a dark brown.

Curious to my surroundings, I opend the canopy by pulling on a gold rope. I was in a bedroom. The room was decorated with paintings of beautiful landscapes and sunsets or sunrise. Candles were everywhere to illuminate the room. Some of the furniture consited of a large dresser, a full length ornamental mirror, a night stand with a clock and more candles next to the bed, a dark blue chair by a small bookcase, and a small table with a book. Next to the dresser were some gold curtians, probably for the closet. At the end of the bed was a large wooden chest. On the chest was a red rose tied with a black ribbon and a note underneth.

Before getting up and reading the note, I turned to the clock to see what time it was. It was 3:30 in the morning. Now aware of my surroundings and the time, more questions ran through my mind. _'Who brought me here and why?_' I figured if I wanted some answers, I should start with the note.

When my feet hit the floor, I noticed that my shoes were off. Either this person was very thoughtful or my shoes now belonged to a thief. I was relived to see me shoes at the end of the bed next to the chest. Picking up the note and the rose, I saw that the thorns were removed, and set the rose on the table to read the note.

_"Dear Monsieur Christopher Daaé,_

_Please do not fear, you are in good hands. I hope you slept well. Your ingury is nothing serious, only a bump but it will still hurt for a while. If you are hungry, the kitchen is down the hall to the left. Please, help yourself to whatever you wish. You are free to roam about my home or to stay in your room. Though I must warn you not to try to enter any locked rooms. They are locked for your safty. I shall see you when you wake._

_Your obedient servant, O.G."_

I paused for a moment before reading the note over again and the signiture, O.G. – Opera ghost. There was no doubt in my mind that I was abducted by the phantom, which proved that the phantom was a living breathing person pretending to be a ghost. With a sigh I sat in the dark blue chair with the note in my hands and thought of what to do. '_I could go back to sleep, but that doesn't mean I'll be in the dressing room when I wake. Maybe I should go look for the phantom. Or I could-_' Before I was able to finish my thoughts my stomach growled loudly. I remembered that I never had time to eat since everyone was getting ready for the show last night. "Hm, the kitchen it is." I said glancing at the note once more before leaving.

The room I came into had even more candles and paintings. It almost felt like I had stepped into a museum. The walls were different than my room, they were coverd with large stones and the furniture could have been over a 100 years old but looked like they were just bought. I guess this could be considered the living room. It had large red couches surrounding a coffee table with a vase of yellow, blue, and white flowers. The was a large bookcase on one wall and a coat rack close to the hallway. on the other side of the room was a closed door.

Although I wanted to see what was there, my stomach growled again convincing me to find some food before exploring. As I crossed the room, I looked back at the door to remind myself to go there later. I didn't go very far down the hall to find the kitchen. The kitchen had smooth walls unlike the previous room. The counters and cabnits were white but the floor was a light blue like the walls. There was even a fridge, dishwasher, microwave, and oven. After searching the kitchen I found something to snack on. Surprisingly I liked most of the food I found. This was either a nice coincedince or every creepy.

I went back to the previous room after finishing my snack and sat on the couch. The moment I sat down I heard music coming from behind the door. _'The phantom must be there.'_ I thought to myself. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door slowly. The music got louder and I now knew it was an organ. I walked into the room and looked around. This room had an almost messy neatness to it. Candles lit the room, papers were scattered on a large table and some on the floor. The walls were stone and decoratied with drawings of a man. I picked one up that was on a small stand and tried to hold back a gasp. They were drawings of _me!_ There was a red chair where a violin was resting and the case for it on the ground. There was also what looked like a grand piano coved with a cloth.

On the far wall was the organ the the person playing. The person wore a white puffy long sleeved shirt, long black pants, and boots. Long midnight black hair went almost to the waist. As I got closer, I saw that the phantom was a woman. She didn't seem to notice me and continued playing a beautiful peice of music. When I was a few feet away she stopped, and turned to me. On her face was a mask that covered everything but her eyes, mouth. and chin. The mask reminded me of a human skull. Her eyes were a golden color and were like a cat's which seemed to almost glow in the candle light.

"Good day. I hope I did not wake you." Her voice was beautiful and soft when she spoke in a way that I had heard before. In awe of the sight before me, I was only able to shake my head to answer. She nodded before turning back to the organ.

"Who are you?" I asked.

She rested her fingers on the ivory keys and looked down. "I am the phantom, or opera ghost. You know me by another name." She paused for a moment. "I am your angel of music. I am Erika."

I could believe what I just heard. My angel was human. Not only that, but she was _the phantom!_ I started to walk backwards away from her shaking my head. It couldn't be true!

"I did not mean for you to find out this way." Erika turned to me, still sitting on the stool. I only continued shaking my head slowly. "Please, you must believe me." She got up and took a step towards me. Quietly I breathed a no and started to turn away from her. "Christopher." She exclaimed with a sadness in her voice.

I stopped. The more she spoke, the more I started to believe it was true. How could I be sure? The fact that she knew about the angel helped since I only told Mike. But I had to make sure. "If- If you really are the angel of music, then what was it you gave me when you first came?" I asked. If Mike had told people about my angel, he still would have forgotten about the charm. He wasn't one for little details like that and forgets things often.

"A charm, it was a sheet of music and a rose for the charm bracelet your mother gave to you."

I sighed heavily and turned to Erika with a smile. "I guess, deep down, I always knew it was too good to be true. Ha, man this is weird." I laughed. Erika sighed, relieved that I believed her. "So when were you planning on telling me?"

She was silent for a while. "When I felt you were ready to know."

"Fair enough." I looked at the drawings decorating the room. "Are all these drawings of me?" Erika had turned back the organ before I finished my question. Ok, this conversation is getting even more awkward with each question. Maybe even more so for her. Different topic! "So what were you playing? I never heard of it before." So I ask _another_ question. _'Oiy'_

"It is my own piece." Houston, we have left the awkward conversation. You may proceed. "I was working on it when you came in."

"Is is alright if I listen?" She nodded and grabbed a chair which didn't have stacks of papers on it. I sat down in the chair next to her and listened. The music was amazing. Unlike anything I have ever heard before. It was like heaven had come down to earth or we had gone to heaven. The soft beautiful melody continued for a few minutes before coming to an end bring us back to earth. How I wished she would continue playing. "I was wrong. There _is_ an angel of music."

"I am no angel." She said quietly.

"Maybe not a _real_ one but, you're still mine." _'Man that sounded cheesy! XP'_ Erika chuckled quietly. '_Yep, chessy.'_

"I shall return you when you wish." She started to get up.

"You're not going to play anymore?" Erika stopped and turned to my curiously. "I mean would you continue, please?"

She seemed a bit surprised that I wanted her to stay. Seeing that she had not moved, I gestured towards the piano bench. With a nod she sat down and stared playing another song I had never heard of. She continued playing many songs and sometimes ask me if I wanted to go, but in a way that seemed like she was afraid she was being a poor hostess and was boring me. This went on for a long time until I yawned rather loudly.

"We have been up for a long time. You should get some rest."

"Yeah. You're probably right." I said getting up from the chair. "I'll see you later then?"

"If… if you wish it… Christopher." She nodded. I was going to say "call me Chris" but remembered I had said that many times before so let it be.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: This one changes perspective a few times and I hope no one gets confused.  
**

**Chapter 8**

**Mike's POV:**

Mom opened the door and waited for me to go inside. I walked in with my head hung low disappointed that our search had failed. The door closed behind me and mom hung her cloak on the coat rack as dad came running down the stair, anxious of our news. "Did yah find 'im?" He asked my mom. She simply shook her head and went into the living room to rest and dad followed her. "I can't believe he's missing. It's very odd fer 'im tah disappear without sayin' a word." He commented. I sighed as I thought of Chris.

He had been missing since last night. We didn't think much of it before but got really worried in the morning to see he still hadn't shown up anywhere. Chris would never go anywhere without letting someone know what he's doing. What really got us worried was when we found his cell ion the floor near the third cellar. He knew better that to go there. To add to our worry, one of the guys from school was found dead – one of Joey's friends. Mom wanted to call the police but he wasn't even gone a day yet, though it sure was close since last I saw him was then the musical ended and it was already 11:30 am. We had been searching for him since almost 9 this morning.

I went over the places we searched in my head. We had even gone as far as the fourth cellar. No one dared go any farther than that. The people at the opera helped look for him too. The managers were having a fit... well Andre was. Firmin made sure not to mention the death to the police, though if he did, we might have had their help finding him instead of having to wait a day for him to officially be a missing person. After thinking of all the places, I thought of the people we talked to. Joey, stage hands, cleaning people, the really old dudes- Old dudes! It hit me. The one person we didn't talk to. With new hope, I grabbed my jacket and left my home for the opera house.

"Ah come on. The time I need you I can't find you." I said to myself as I search the opera house for the old man, er the Persian. Finally I had found him minding his own business by one of the props and he didn't seem to notice me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Ok. You're doin' this to find Chris. For Chris!" I opened my eyes and jumped back when I saw the man now in front of me. "_Gah!_ Don't do that! Oiy."

"Did you wish to speak with me?" He asked with an amused smile.

"Yeah, I did. Name's Mike by the way."

"Nadir. So you shall stop calling me Old Man." He added, his smile now turned serious. I frowned for a moment but quickly remembered why I was even talking to him.

"Look, I'm sure you know that my friend Chris is missing right?" He nodded. "Well, nobody has any idea where he is. He just disappeared after the show, maybe to talk to his ang-_le angle!_" He gave me an odd look which was a good thing since I don't think he knew I was going to say angel. Thank you American wording! "I need your help... please?" I must have looked pathetic since he gave in almost immediately.

"If I find anything, you shall be the first to know."

"Whooo! Thanks man. Uh, Nader?" He shook his head and walked off.

**Nadir's POV:**

Little did he know that I already had an idea as to where his friend might be. I had suspected it before but had no proof or reason that it was her. Mike had given me the proof I needed when he corrected himself and said angle. I give him credit for trying. I had heard the boy talk to himself about this angel when he believed no one was around. Of course I was only passing by and did not care what he was talking about then but now it had whole new meaning to it.

Quickly I hurried to the third cellar and the secret passage that led to the house by the lake underneath the opera house. I had tried to get there by the gondola but fell victim Erika's siren. Thankfully it was not a fatal mistake, this time. I landed in the torture chamber with a loud thud. Surely she would have heard me or else I would have to start banging on the walls. Later I would talk to her about letting me come through another way.

More quickly than I had imagined, the door opened and there she was with an annoyed expression I could see clearly in her eyes. My suspicions were confirmed when she closed the door slowly and looked down the hall. "What are you doing her?" She spoke in a hushed whisper.

"I am looking for Christopher Daaé." I said and following her up the hall and too the music room.

She gave a frustrated sigh and sat on the chair next to the organ. "To what concern is he to you?" She asked fully aware of my intentions.

"You kidnapped him."

"Technically, he is not a kid." She teased. I frowned at her. "I did no such thing. He followed me here and is staying of his own free will."

"His family-"

"He has no family!" Erika got up from the seat and walked over the covered piano with her back towards me. "No one shall miss him if he wants to stay here with me."

"You are wrong, and you know that." She turned back to me. "He has friends who are looking for him. One who even came to me for my help."

"So you are doing this for him then."

"I am doing this for Christopher. You can not keep him here. He is not a stray that you can take home."

"I am quite aware of that." She sighed. "I'll take him back when he wants to leave."

"You must take him back now."

"When he wakes!" She exclaimed. I saw no point in arguing with her. She had made her decision. "I'll take you across the lake now." Erik led me through her home till we came upon a large wooden door that led to the lake.

**Chris's POV:**

It had been a couple hours since I had come back to what is now my room. Though I tried to get some sleep, it was nearly impossible. I'd sleep for fifteen minutes then wake up with thoughts of what had happened for another 15 minutes. I would look at the clock every time I woke and before I went back to sleep. This was getting very annoying. Still, I couldn't stop thinking about Erika and that she was the phantom. A part of me wanted to scream while another wanted to laugh for believing in my mom's fairytale. That was just it. I still believed what my mom had said. I wanted to hang on to what little memory I had of her, I didn't want to make her a liar.

Mike was right. It was too SciFi for reality. An angel of Music who teaches me to sing, it was like- _'I'm an idiot!'_ I thought, laughing into the pillow. This was like Leroux's story. The angel, dead parents, opera house, thankfully there was no "Raoul" figure. Amazing that I never caught on. Well, in a way I did when I read the book after my mom died. Course I just figured that's where she got the story of the angel and convinced myself that it had to be true. Ignorance is bliss.

There was a quiet thud but I choose to ignore it since I still didn't know of the noises that one would hear down here. Not much later I heard footsteps and a door open and close. I wasn't sure what to do and waited to hear any other noises before leaving the room. About five minutes later I heard the door open again. Erika must have gone out and come back. I was curious so I left me room to see.

**Erika's POV:**

I closed the large wooden door with a sigh as I thought of what Nadir had said earlier. "It took you a while, but I see you kept your promise to Lady Daaé."

"Not that it matters but I had kept my promise form the moment she died."

"I see. I'm surprised you decided to do it." He looked back with a small smile.

"Idiot." I wasn't calling him an idiot, and he knew that.

Why did she have to help me? That cursed woman and her blasted promise and my idiotic feelings. I wanted everyone in that mansion to die, her as well. So why did she care for my life? She could have lived longer and let me die with everyone else. Idiot woman. Helping me and treating like I was human. Why did she have to be so kind? Why did I promise to watch her son for her? Maybe I wouldn't have if I never heard him sing. He had so much potential and already exceeded the ones around him. So I watched him and waited for the right time to teach him.

The charm she gave me proved useful alright. It made me his angel of music. That was amusing. The lessons were hard and I would push him to his limit, or close to it. Soon I spoke kinder and my voice was softer. Mostly because I realized he responded better that way and improved even faster, but then... I started to care for him. He was no longer a pawn to get my music out. I had promised myself never to love anything but my music leave the cold world out of my life. Who knew he could bring me out? Who knew I would come to love him. Idiot. Falling in love.

"Erika." I looked up to see Christopher not to far from me.

"Good afternoon Christopher." Nadir's words ran through my mind, _"You must take him back now._"

"Did you go somewhere?"

"Ah, did I wake you? Forgive me."

"No, no. I was already awake." He smiled. "So where did you go?"

I looked up for a moment. "To the upper levels of the Opera house, where you should getting back to."

"Oh man!" He exclaimed. "I completely forgot about Mike and everyone. They've gotta be worried. How long have I been gone?"

"Since last night and it is now early in the afternoon."

"I should get back." I nodded and opened the door to the lake. He came and paused in the doorway. "Whoa. Where are we exactly?"

"Beneath the Opera house." He nodded then pointed to the gondola in the water. "It is how we shall cross the lake." Chris got in and so did I after him then took him across the lake. He seemed fascinated by his surroundings, the statues, the candles on the walls, and the pillars. Finally we reached the shore and I took him down the long corridor. Finally we reached the hidden door. "This door leads to your mother's dressing room. Or maybe I should say _your_ dressing room?"

"Thanks." He started to leave but stopped. "Um, will I see you again?"

I was surprised he still wanted to see me after finding out that I was both his "angel" and the phantom but I made sure not to show it. "If you wish."

"Cool, same time then?" I nodded and tried not to groan at the word "cool". It never made much sense to me. "It's a date then." I was unable to hold my surprise this time. Chris looked a bit surprised at what he said as well and was blushing. "Uh, you know what I mean." He laughing weakly and hurried through the door which I closed once he was through."

"Date." I said it quietly. I have heard this word many times before but always sneered at the word. '_A date was a kind of nut, not what they now considered it.'_ Now, I think I was almost blushing myself.

**Chris's POV:**

I looked around the dressing room then back at the way I came through. I was startled to see my own reflection instead of the passage that was there only a moment ago. This explained why Erika sounded so close, but I still wasn't sure how she sounded like she was everywhere at once when she would speak to me in this room. Someone moaned quietly from behind me. On the couch was Rachael sleeping with a blanket on the floor. _'How long has she been here?'_ I thought and bent down next to her. She looked troubled from what I could tell since her hair was in her face. As I moved it she moaned quietly again and turned to me with her eyes still closed.

"Chris?" She said softly.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Ceci est un autre rêve. Vous secouez, me partant, comme... cela."

She spoke with a perfect French accent and all I could do was blink in surprise. I didn't know she knew French nor do I have any idea what she just said. Guess that's what happens when you don't see someone for 10 years. I didn't want to wake her since she was a lot more peaceful than a moment ago so I pulled up a chair and waited.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: First I want to thank ANYONE who may be reading this. Since from the comments I think I only have two readers. XP Now, I do NOT own The Phantom of the Opera. Gaston Leroux does. Even though he's been dead for over 100 years.  
**

**Chapter 9**

"She talks in her sleep, in French?" Mike laughed and made himself comfy on the couch. I hadn't left the dressing room since I had come back. Mostly because of all the questions people would be asking me once they saw me and I hadn't come up with a good excuse yet. "What did she say?"

"I have no idea. She'd only apologized after I told her what she said to me."

"I don't blame her. You disappeared right after the show without a word." I nodded and relaxed in the chair by the vanity table and glanced at he mirror, thinking about last night. After a moment of staring at it, I realized I hadn't listened to a word Mike had said. "Yo, Earth to Chris."

"Ah, my bad. I was... thinking."

"Yeah, and what's with the mirror? All yah been doin' is starin' at it." Mike got up to examine the mirror.

"It's... complicated."

After failing to move the mirror from its designated place on the wall, he turned to me. "_Girls_ are complicated." I chuckled quietly, partly because it was a girl I was thinking of. "I mean, I got to hang out with Rachael when you were missin'. All she'd talk about is how she almost lost everythin' in a huge fire and that she was gonna lose her only friend. Girl rambled on too much." He smiled at his reflection in the mirror. "Course I told she wasn't gonna lose _me_."

"You were hitting on her?" I laughed. "That sounds so weird."

"Where'd yah go anyway?" He asked for maybe the 5th time. Mike wasn't one to give up easily.

"I told you, it's complicated."

He frowned. "How 'bout I tell you what Joey's lackey told me." I looked at him with great interest. I had never figured out what had happened when I was blindfolded. "So him Joey and Zack kidnapped you after the show right." He began and paced around the room. As Mike continued, I relaxed in the chair and listened intently. "Blindfolded and gagged yah. Later they took yah to the third cellar. That's when he started actin' weird. Said somethin' bout a floating skull with gold eyes and it was smiling. Zack screamed, Joey ran almost immediately, and Freddy watched Zack and the "ghost" for a while before running for his life." He sighed and quietly added. "Poor guy."

"That sounds about right from what I remember." The scream and gasping breaths were all too clear of a memory.

"So what happened to you?"

"I was pushed out of the way." Pausing for a moment to think of what Mike had told me. "After hearing everything, I was too scared to move."

"That's a good thing I guess, since he didn't see you."

"She." I said without thinking.

"Awesome! So yah saw her then. What she look like?" Mike smiled, happy to finally get something other than "It's complicated".

"I didn't really see her, plus her face was covered by a mask and she was cloaked in black..."

"I got an idea." He interrupted. "I'll go out with Rachael and you can have the phantom."

"Huh?" I almost fell out of the chair and I thought of what I last said to Erika. Some people would maybe consider it a date. No, it couldn't be. It was a singing lesson, not a date.

"Dang, I didn't think that'd make yah blush." He laughed, making me even redder after I looked in the mirror to see he was right.

It took a few days for things to calm down. The talk of my disappearance and the Zack's death was soon forgotten and everything returned to normal, mostly. Carlos didn't come back fo ra couple days as well. Mike had asked Rachael out and to my surprise she said yes. My singing lesson with Erika was put off for a while which was no surprise. Though after a not hearing from her for a while made me wonder if she was even planning on coming back. So the day Mike and Rachael were on their date, which sounds weird no matter how I say it, I went to the dressing room to wait for her.

"Erika!" I called, looking at he mirror and waited. All was silent for a few minutes and I turned away from the mirror to the door.

"You called for me." I spun around to the mirror where I heard her voice. "I apologize for not coming sooner." A figure stood in the mirror.

"I'm just glad you came."

"Are you ready?" I nodded and hurried to the mirror. The figure's head moved to the side for a moment. "You, wish to come back."

"Well, I kinda figured we'd go back. Less interruptions." I reasoned.

"Yes..." Her hand came forward and almost seemed to come through the glass. I watched in awe as the glass faded into nothing and Erika became clearer with each passing moment. My hand went to hers mechanically with my eyes lost in her beautiful amber ones. I found myself in the dimly lit passageway with Erika. I didn't remember actually walking forward but somehow I was there. Like either my feet moved as I fell under the enchantment of her eyes, or the floor moved for me. Still, I was with her and a sudden calm came over me much like the many other times she had come as the Angel of Music. She glided as she walked and I followed.

The piano had stopped once again so Erika could criticize my singing. I put my hand against the stool to lean on and the other on my damp forehead, exhausted from the already long lesson. Erika was a hard teacher but a good one, wanting me to improve in everyway and making sure I did. "You must sing with your _very_ being." She said again and got up from the bench to get a better look at me. "As if your life is only song." I turned to her with a nod and got up. "Rest. You can not sing correctly if you can not even hold yourself up." Her face was as serious as before and turned.

"I can do it." She turned back to me. I pushed myself into the correct position, trying to keep my legs from shaking. A very small smile crossed her lips and she made her way back to the piano, stepping over the dust cloth that had covered it before the lesson began. Her fingers danced gracefully over the keys just barely touching. As the song began, I thought of how to do what she said. Thoughts of my mother and seeing her singing on stage filled my mind. Now I understood... how my mother sang like she was graced with an angel's voice. Singing _was_ her life and now it was _mine_.

A completely different sound left my mouth when I sang. I felt like everything around me had faded into nothing and all that was left was the music that surrounded me. My voice was only song. No longer could I speak, only sing what my soul felt. I began to realize that it wasn't my voice that caused this amazing feeling, but the music Erika played. It was unlike anything I had every heard and lifted my voice to new levels. The music started to take me to a brand new world; one of only music. I had hoped that the song would never end and I could sing till the end of time.

My heart sank for a moment when I finished and the last note was hit on the piano. I hadn't realized that my eyes had closed until I had opened them and saw Erika staring down the piano. For a moment I was afraid that my performance had disappointed her. She turned around to face me with a small smile and approving nod. I sighed smiling and collapsed onto the stool beside me.

"You did it almost perfectly." Erika got up from the bench and came to me. "We're done for today. Now you may rest."

"My mom did it." I said almost breathlessly. "She told me that I was her inspiration, to sing like that." Erika turned from me. "I'm not sure what mine is yet but... I have an idea."

"It is time for you to return. We do not want another disappearance." There was a hint of mischief in her voice which made me chuckle. "You remember the way."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." She nodded and I headed out of the music room and to the dressing room. Moving the gondola across the lake was no easy task. It made me wonder how she made it look so easy but I quickly remembered that she lived down here. Must have been doing this for a very long time. That made me wonder how long she has lived down here. What could have drove her down here into hiding from the world? The mask obviously held the anwser.

_A young woman holding a plate of food waited by a closed door, she had finished her dinner and was able to sneak another plate away. The woman glanced at the door as she waited for the people inside to leave. She had seen the people go in almost a half hour ago along with the host. He loved to entertain his friends and had told her and everyone else that he had found the ultimate attraction at the carnival and that he brought it home. That was three days ago. So for three days his guests, herself included, had come to see this atteraction. Along with this new entertainment, he had brought the people form the carnival in hopes to buy the thing in the room. She had seen what was in the room and was most displeased with the man she considered her friend. _

_Setting the plate down next to a large plant, she pressed her ear on the door to listen. Many people were laughing and had been laughing from the moment they had closed the door. She could almost hear some people talking or yelling though she couldn't make out what they were saying. She was grateful for that. Many times before she had overheard thier conversations and it wasn't very pleasant, to say the least. _

_The door knob moved and the woman hurried away form the door and picked up the plate of food. Men and a few women started pouring out from the room laughing and some seemed a little uncomfortable. A few of the new friends came out as well; counting the coins they held in their hands with greedy eyes. They paid no head to the womanby the door with her plate watching them as they came out and made their way down the hall and around the corner still laughing. _

_Once the laughing couldn't be heard, she turned to the door. They had forgotten to close it. She took a deep breath as she went inside. There was trash everywhere but most of it was inside the cage surrounding the person crouched in the shadows with it's back turned to her. The woman made her way to the cage but stopped when she stepped on something with a loud crunch. The person inside the cage shuddered, realizing that someone had returned. _

_"Excuse me." The woman began and took another step closer to the cage. The person turned it's head to her and glanced at the plate. "I thought you might be hungry." She set the plate down next to a small opening big enough for the plate to fit through. The person looks at the woman astonished before moving forward slightly._

_"T-Tha..." The person began in a hoarse whisper. "Thank you." _

_The woman smiled as she pushed the plate through the opening for the person. "Naomi!" Her husband called from outside the room, searching for her. She hurried out of the room before he came to the room. "Ah, there you are." He smiled when he saw her, unaware of which room she had come out of. "I've been looking for you. Come, they're going to serve your favorite desert now." He start to go down the hallway but stopped when he saw that Naomi wasn't coming._

_"Don't worry. I'll be there in a moment." She called with her sweet voice. Her husband shrugged and continued down the hall. Naomi walked back to the room to look inside. She smiled to see that the person had gotten the plate of food. The person looked up at her with curious eyes, asking her why. "Kindness doesn't need a reason." She explained then left the person to their plate of food._


	11. Chapter 10

**Dhaos: ****Sailor Phantom of Middle Earth doesn't own The Phantom of the Opera for those idiots who believe she does.  
****Sailor Phantom of Middle Earth: HEY! I told you to be nice!  
Dhaos: Then get your other muse to do this!  
Sailor Phantom of Middle Earth: At least finish it nicely.****  
Dhaos: --x ... Enjoy you _humans_.  
**

**  
**

**Chapter 10**

**Erika's POV:**  
I sat in my study waiting for the day to end the evening to begin. It was only 10:40 and already I was tried of the day. Christopher's face invaded my mind as I tried to occupy myself. Soon I hurried to the drawing/music room and started drawing him once more. First his heart shaped heart. _'Does he have room for me in his heart?'_ His short sandy-blonde hair parted neatly to the side then his blue-green eyes slowly coming alive as I finished them. A loving gaze that I may only see in these portraits I make. His nose followed by his lips. I paused and gazed at the beautiful lips, a growing longing for them to reach mine. Quickly I turned my thoughts back to finishing the portrait. When it was finally finished, I noticed certain features of his mother in him. They're eyes were exactly the same. Kind, loving eyes.

Memories of my past flooded my thoughts and I sat down in a chair behind me. The woman's smiling face replaced Christopher's. That idiotic woman... Naomi.

**Nine 1/2 years earlier...**  
Laughter from the ballroom where a party was being held reached my ears. Though it was faint, it was clear enough for me; too clear, for I hated their laughter. I grasped the plate in my hands that the woman had given to me at lunch this afternoon. It was now 7:38. The master of the household was holding a party celebrating his new _pet_ – Me. Sold only yesterday by the same greedy idiots who brought me to this wretched place four days ago. They were glad to be rid of me. Though I had brought business to their sad excuse for a carnival, they never had the stomach to be with me for too long.

I was about ready to snap the plate in half when I heard the familiar footsteps approaching the room I was in. As I set the plate down, the door opened and light invaded the once dark room shimmering on the bars of the cage that confined me to this room. The light made the woman's face glow, making her even more beautiful. Her long amber hair shone and strands of it went down her soft tanned skin. Blue-green eyes searched for me as they adjusted to the darkness, compared to outside of this room, and her large rose red lips smiled when she saw me.

She opened the door about half way to let a more light in before coming to me with another plate of food from dinner along with sweets from the party she had come from. The woman wore an orange dress of all things. I may not have seen many women in dresses but I knew orange wasn't a common color one could pull off, yet she was. What I found amusing though that she did not wear matching high heels that most would wear only to take them off after the party begins, but orange and black shoes. She was a most peculiar woman with interesting taste, but she was more unique and sensible I'll give her that.

"Sorry I could not get here sooner." She said and slipped the plate through the hole. I took the plate and began eating. "I wanted to get away with as little suspicion as possible... May I ask you what your name is?" I paused for a moment to glance up at the woman; my eyes met her curious and kind gaze. "I am Naomi." She held out her hand threw the bars.

For a while I stared at her hand while considering if I should answer her. "Erika." I said before turning back to my food. My head still lowered, I glanced up at her smiling face, her hand back at her side as well. She turned to the door for a moment then back to me.

"I should go now or they may start searching for me." I was going to let her leave without a second thought but what little humanity I had left in me called her back. She paused at the door then turned to me surprised that I wanted her to stay, if only for a moment.

"Leave this place or you will die along with everything and everyone else in this horrid mansion." I said almost like I was ordering a servant to clean house. Naomi stared at me, her mouth open slightly, waiting for some reason for my odd command. "Tonight, I plan on killing everyone here, including myself. I'm giving you this one chance to leave; you will have ten minutes to get you and anyone else out." She stepped forward to speak but met my cold golden eyes. With a sad, confused look, she hurried out of the room.

Ten minutes had passed. A small part of me wondered if she left. I took the plate that lay in front of me, and tossed it at one of the lights. The dimly lit lamp fell to the floor and a small fire started. The fire quickly spread along the wall, outside the hall, and down the mansion. Not much later the laughter was replaced by screams of terror. I smiled as I thought of the people who decided to make me their entertainment, their _pet_. Now they were going to pay, all of them. The de Chagny mansion and all that resided in it were going to die.

**Present day**  
The dream was over when the clock chimed, it was 2:00. My back ached from falling asleep on the chair. I stretched and multiple cracking noise followed. Most people would be very hungry at this point, but I am not like most people. Still, I saw no point in starving myself as I had almost done many times before when consumed my work for days. I went to the kitchen to find something and thoughts of Christopher once again invaded my mind.

**Chris's POV:**  
I was standing outside Mike's room with my hand on the doorknob listening to someone inside singing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". Now I knew Chris's mom has made take singing lessons since he was 10 along with acting, music, drawing, dancing, and any other thing relating to the arts. He couldn't draw; even his stick figures looked like angry lines. The only instrument he could play was... actually he can't play anything. Not even the "triangle thingy" as he called it. Dancing was the only thing he was good at and remotely enjoyed, along with the acting lessons, though he'll never admit he's even done ballet. Now, about the singing lessons, I've heard him sing once before and he has a pleasant voice. He could get a lot better but he never took it seriously and would drive his teacher up the wall till he or she quit. The only time I heard him sing was when he got his first kiss.

So hearing him sing now meant something really good happened on the date. Then why did I a part of me not want to know? Pushing that thought away, I opened the door to see Mike with a towel on his back like a cape, holding a banana, and singing some silly songs and love songs like "It's the Song that Never Ends", "So She Dances", "Mahna Mahna" and "Iris". Something _really_ good must have happened.

I was holding back my laughter when he jumped on his bed and started doing the Macarena. He did a 180 instead and fell on his bed with a red face when he saw me. After that, I wasn't able to keep myself from laughing. Mike got up form the bed and threw off his "cape" to some part of the room and left the banana on the bed. His color had returned to normal at that point and I had managed to stop laughing.

"So I may assume the date was a success?" I asked with a few giggles.

"Rachael is amazing!" He exclaimed. "We had an actual conversation that I was interested in." Usually when Mike goes on a date, the girl does all the talking about what would interest her girl friends more than him and Mike would end up daydreaming or thinking of an excuse to leave. "Did you know her house burned down 10 years ago?"

The smile I had quickly faded as I remembered that day. I may not have been there but my parents and Rachael were. Sure they all survived but a lot of people died and Rachael had to move away. The cause of the fire was never found out so the police called it an accident. Blamed one of the guests, who was probably drunk. It was also because of that fire that my mom had gotten sick to save little Rachael and someone else who was never identified.

"Chris?" Mike woke me from the daydream and looked at me confused. "You really got to stop doing this to me. I'll end up talking to yah for 5 minutes before I realize you've left for dream world."

"My bad." I laughed, feeling a little bad for how many conversations I have zoned out on. "So what were you saying?"

"I think I _really_ like her. She's different than most girls and she's not one of those spoiled rich people."

"So far you've told everything I already know." I teased and was tackled to the ground. Mike grabbed a sock nearby and dangled it in my face. "Oh gross! That stinks!" He grinned as he dropped the old sock on my face. I was able to throw Mike off and quickly tossed the sock in his face, starting a dirty clothes fight.

"A dirty clothes fight?" Erika sat at the piano in the music room with a quizzical look. I laughed as I explained to her Mike's room and how we would often fight with his dirty clothes. At the end of each fight we would end up with a large pile of clothes surrounding us along with trash, shoes, a couple magazines, some old toy we haven't seen in years, and smelling like we had just came out of a trash can. Of course Mike's mom would freak and send us to the shower and start cleaning the spots where we had walked. Erika shook her head obviously wondering what would make anyone do a, dirty clothes fight.

"Well, the lesson is over and we've had a very interesting conversation." She got up from the piano bench and grabbed the dust cloth for the piano. I looked around and noticed a new drawing on a desk. Erika was distracted with what she was doing so I went to get a closer look. It was another one of me, though it looked to good to really be me.

"Do you like it?" Erika asked now next to me. I turned to her with my mouth open but unable to speak. "I'm afraid they are only by memory, so they are not as good as I would like them to be."

"Not as good?" I began, finally able to get words out of my mouth. "These are amazing!" She sighed quietly and gently took the drawing from me then gazed at it. We were quiet for a while until I got an idea. "Why don't you don't one now?" Erika turned to me with the same serious look she had painted on her. Mostly because of the mask she wore but her eyes showed some curiosity. "That way, you'll get it how you want to look."

A small smiled crossed her pink lips. "Alright, sit over there." She pointed to a stool not far from the covered piano. I nodded and hurried to the stool. Erika searched the room for a white sheet of paper then grabbed a stand for the paper. Now holding a pencil in her hand, she glanced up at me. "Relax." She half ordered. "I want you to look normal, don't do any silly pose." I nodded and got in a more relaxed and natural position. "Good." She said and began drawing.

After a couple minutes I wondered how far she had gotten, but was afraid to open my mouth and ask so I wouldn't ruin the drawing. "I finished your head so you may speak if you wish." My eyes widened, amazed how she answered my question without me asking. _'Mind reading too? How many talents does she have?'_ I thought teasingly. "I do not read minds, but I do read eyes." She glanced up at me once more. "Eyes can tell you more than a mouth can."

"So maybe that's how my mom knew I was up to something." I joked and hoped for at least a chuckle but got nothing. '_So much for a two-way conversation._' I thought.

"Christopher, there is something, I would like to ask you." She seemed a little hesitant as she spoke, as if she was unsure of whether she should ask this question or not. There was a long pause before she finally asked her question. "Would you like to stay here, with me?" I tried not to look too surprised so I settled for gawping at her like an idiot. "You will have your own room and you may leave when ever you like... I understand if you do not-."

"It's not that. It's just a big decision and you threw me off guard there. I'll think about it."

Now you must understand. When the Giry's offered me to live with them, refused since I didn't want to leave my dad's house, even though it was a way to leave Charity. I did visit them a lot more since their offer. But ever since the angel- err, Erika came into my life, I wanted to spend my time here, also because I spent more time here with my mom than anywhere else. The thought of living with an older woman who I didn't know _that_ much about is a little weird, but at the same time, I felt like I could trust her. It didn't mean I could answer right away though, it still meant leaving my old home, with Char- maybe this decision isn't _that_ hard. The question is; who would I rather live with, Charity – a selfish middle-aged woman trying to hold onto her youth and doesn't care if I even exist – or Erika – the phantom of an opera house who _lives_ beneath said opera house is who knows how old and is curious about my day?

"So yah can go move into the opera house but yah can't come live with me and my family?" Mike asked following behind me both of us carrying a bag of my stuff as we walked away from my house to his mom's van. It would have been Mike's car but his mom took away his driver's license after the dirty clothes fight.

I turned to him with a thoughtful look. "Mmm, pretty much."

Mike paused for a moment before running next to me. "Do you think I can move there too?" We had reached the van and were in Mrs. Giry's hearing range when he asked so she answered him with a frown. Mike shrugged it off as he opened the door to put the bag in. I was about to put mine in when Charity came running out of the house.

"Wait! Little Chris can't leave." She said in the sweet tone she could manage along with a sad smile. "If he goes-"

"You'll lose my dad's money, yeah, I know." I smiled slyly. Mike suppressed his giggles as best he could while his mom kept a serious face.

"Why you little…!" She raised her hand to slap me but Mrs. Giry quickly opened the car hitting Charity in the stomach. Mike and I stared in amazement at Charity now holding her stomach and groaning. Mrs. Giry got out of the car, closed the door, and stood in front of Charity.

"Don't you _dare_ lay a hand on him." Charity put her hand on the hood of the car to help herself up and looked at the now towering woman before her. "The only reason he didn't leave you sooner is because he's a good boy with a big heart. Now, I'll help you inside but I better not hear or see you conversing with him again."

Charity gritted her teeth as she was helped back inside the house. We watched the two in awe and waited for her to come back. Mrs. Giry walked back to the car, got inside, waited for us to get in, and then took off to the opera house. At that point, Mike's awed expression turned to a large grin.

"Alright mom!" He exclaimed. "That was awesome!"

A small smile came though the serious look in her eyes never changed. "I've wanted to do that for a long time. But I never want to see you two do that to anyone unless you have no other choice but to defend yourself." We nodded, now both of us grinning all the way to the opera house, my new home.


	12. Chapter 11

**It LLIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVEEEESSSSSSSS! I finally got a bit of insperation last nigh- _this morning_ turns to cat and finshed it up today. My cat seems to want to inspire me early in the morning. --x Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11**

It was 7:11 when we finally reached my dressing room. Mike helped me bring the two bags in even though I could easily handle both of them. He commented on the painted roses and name reading "Lady Daaé" on the door and that I should at least take out Lady. I told him I would think about it, thanked him and his mom for helping me, and said good night. Mrs. Giry offered me to come over for dinner a couple times before leaving but each time I declined. Mike was getting annoyed and started almost pushing his mom out the door so he could get home and eat. With them finally gone, and the bags on the couch, waited a few minutes after they left to make sure they weren't coming back before calling for Erika.

"I am here Christopher." I stumbled back when I heard Erika's voice echo through the room almost immediately after I called her. Sure I was used to her voice coming out of nowhere pretty quickly, but after finding out she was human I began to wonder how she got here so fast.

"Were you waiting here all this time?" I said turning to the mirror.

"I saw you arrive at the opera house not long ago, _then_ I came here to wait for you."

"Oh, OK." I felt a little silly for thinking that she'd wait behind a mirror for me for about an hour. Remembering why I called her, I grabbed the two bags and turned back to the mirror. "OK, do that trick mirror thing you did last time and lets go." After I said "mirror trick", I remembered one of the magicians that Mike had made fun of and that he said something similar. So I had expected her to snap back at my comment. Instead, for the first time ever, I think I heard her trying not to laugh.

"Alright, come stand in front of the mirror." Her image became clearer when I got closer to the mirror. "Don't move."

I did as she said but examined the mirror without moving my head too much. The ground started moving a moment later. A part of me wanted to grab onto to something to make sure I wouldn't fall but I quickly reminded myself what Erika said. I looked to the mirror and saw the glass almost fade away into nothing when it was only moving away. All of this reminded me of when Raoul and the Persian were in Christine's dressing room and were going to see the Phantom in Gaston Leroux's book. Only here, no one was in need of rescue and I was going as a new house guest.

In only what took only a few moments, I was on the other side of the mirror with Erika in front of me. Erika took one of the bags and I noticed her mask was different. The white skull like mask was now replaced by a black one, though it still covered the same area as the previous.

"Looks nice." She turned back to me, not completely sure what I was talking about. "The mask; it looks good."

"Th-thank you." I think she wasn't expecting a complement on the mask she wore. It wasn't some random comment, it really did look nice; a lot nicer than the skull one. That one gave me the creeps.

It didn't take long to get to her underground home by the lake. We got to my room and I dumped the bag I had on my bed. Erika examined the contents now spread across the bed randomly while I took some of the things and started putting them away. I told her about what Mrs. Giry did to Charity before we got here as I put things away. I asked her about dinner after I was done and was told that I could have anything in the kitchen, which I did so soon after she left.

Erika had gone to the music room when I was eating. I know this since I heard her playing the violin. Soon after I finished, I went to bed. I had almost gone to the music room to say goodnight but couldn't bring myself to interrupt her playing the beautiful music and ended up listening to it for almost an hour. Even after I went to bed, I could still hear her playing and I fell asleep to the enchanting music.

A cell phone started vibrating softly under my pillow acting as an alarm to wake me. I rolled over trying to ignore it but it started to move the pillow and my head the longer I left it alone. My hand went under the pillow mechanically – as this is a morning ritual for me – and turned it off with my eyes partly open. With a quiet groan I threw my legs to the cool floor and pulled myself out of bed. I had completely forgotten where I was until I hit a wall where I thought the door was. Now a little more awake and aware of my surroundings, I searched for the door to leave this room and find the kitchen.

Even though I was up and moving, it didn't mean I was awake. When I was at Mike's place or camp, I would often leave the room to find the kitchen and wouldn't be fully awake until I started eating getting to my destination finding that the door is locked. The people at camp would always have a laugh when I came back sometimes freezing cold from falling in the snow.

I made my way through the living room, up the hall, and into the kitchen with Erika standing by a counter drinking a cup of what I guessed to be coffee in one hand and a paper in the other. I grunted quietly – my good morning or hello – and started for the refrigerator. Erika started to say good morning but only managed to say "Goo-". Holding the handle I turned to see her wide-eyed and wearing a white mask, much like the black one, but it seemed to be turning a light shade of pink. It took me a while to realize why she was acting so strange.

I was wearing _only_ my boxers.

My color quickly changed to a bright red before I dashed out of the kitchen and back into my room. This was going to take some getting used to.

It took me about 15 minutes to come back to the kitchen, even though it only took me 5 to get dressed. I hadn't brought any clothes since I had discovered earlier that the closet was full of them, all were my size, and I had never seen anything like them in any store but they looked amazing. There was even a tux for a formal party. Erika was in the same spot I left her with the paper hiding her masked face. I might as well call it a face since I've never seen her without the mask. She looked up from the paper the moment I had entered the kitchen and lowered the paper once she saw that I had on more than my boxers.

"Sorry about that." I started. "I'm not used to people being up at the same time I am." Erika simply nodded. I think she still felt a little awkward and I don't blame her since I felt plenty embarrassed. "What time is it?" I said hoping to change the subject.

Erika glanced at the clock on the wall which I had completely missed every time I had come in here. "5:30 am." My mouth dropped and eyes widened. I almost sure a fly went in and out of my mouth. She glanced up at me and I quickly closed my mouth and tried to look normal. "You expected it to be later?"'

"Yeah." Then it hit me. "Mike! He must have messed with my cell phone yesterday when he was helping me get my stuff." Mike enjoyed playing pranks on people. He didn't get many chances to do one to me since I was around when ever he was planning one.

"Well, since you're up and ready," She folded the paper neatly and set it on the table. "Let's continue your lessons." My mouth dropped open once more. "You may have breakfast once we finish." It took me a few minutes to finally follow her out of the kitchen to the Music room.

I had hoped that since I was living here, the lessons would become easier. Boy was I wrong. I think she thought since I was here, she could push me more and the lessons could be longer, and they were. The lesson for that morning lasted till for almost 3 hours nonstop. When it was finally over I fell into the chair beside me. Erika had gone from the piano to the organ half way through the lesson. It made things surprisingly harder. She got up and turned to me with a look of dissatisfaction.

"There is still much room for improvement."

I groaned quietly. '_What does she want from me, perfection?_' The answer was obvious. It was her intention not just to teach me to sing, but to train me to be the best. 'It will not be easy.' Her voice ran through my mind along with memories of the day she came to me.

'If you do as I say, and go under my training, there is no turning back. You must give me everything and forget everyone. Your lessons are your life. Are you sure you want to do this?' I was just about to agree when she added, 'No woman can have you.' That had to one of the oddest things I had heard that night. 'She will only be a distraction. You will belong to me.' At first I didn't think much of what she said until after the lessons. I had spent less time hanging out with Mike or doing the things I wanted to do.

"How many masks do you have?" I thought I'd work my way to asking about the mask itself.

She was silent for a while with her back turned to me. Could that question have hit a soft spot? "Quite a few." Her eyes wandered around the room before turning back to me. "Do not ask anymore."

"But why do you hide from me?" It wasn't really a question about the mask, but... nevermind.

"No more!" She glared at me with those cat like eyes sending a shiver up my spine. I almost fell of the chair from that look. Though it only lasted a moment, those eyes were forever etched in my mind. It didn't take long for her to notice my uneasiness. A calm started to spread over her but she turned away from me and walked to the organ. Looking down at the keys, she grasped the edges with a heavy sigh. I was holding onto the chair to keep my balance to help me stand up. "Go." She said quietly. I was about to protest but again she told me to go, this time a little louder. "Go, now." I knew it would be a bad idea to stay so I hurried out of the room and to the gondola. Never again would I ever ask about the mask.


	13. Chapter 12

******A/N: After two long years, I have finally come back with a new chapter!! First, I am so sorry for taking such a long time away from this. Also thanks to everyone who has been reading and may still be reading this phic... though I am unsure who would be now.**

**I hope to be updating more often now, though not frecuntly yet, as I have work and college keeping me busy. Still, I won't update every two years.**

**OH! Before I forget(again) I plan on rewriting this when i have the time. So from the the first chapter to 11, will all be rewritten. The story still be basicly the same, but less terrible. I mean really, I looked over the previous chapters and went "... ... ... EH?!" I'm not sure when I will do this or if it will be posted here. It mostly depends on your reviews. So please, comment.**

**One more thing, would anyone like to read/glance over the first chapter and compare it with this one and tell me if I improved?**

**  
Chapter 12**

Only after a week of living with Erika did I start regretting my decision. I should have figured it'd be hard to live with a girl. It was hard enough to live with Charity, and get school work done. Well, since I still wanted to go to school, Erika would give me singing lessons in the _early_ in the morning(having no sense of time or possibly sleep at all)before breakfast and another after I got back, which would last for two hours, depending if I had a lot of home work or not. On the weekends, we were training from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Leaving me too tired to go out anywhere and usually I'd end up finishing any homework I had.

Of course, all this really wore me out, so sleep came real easily. Erika would constantly be playing the piano, violin, organ, and what ever instrument she could get her hands on during the night, so would I find myself falling asleep to a sweet melody.

At school, it was getting harder to pay attention during class and even harder not to sleep during English or Science. Like it was hard enough to stay awake before! Somehow I've barely managed to pass my tests and quizzes with Cs and even the occasional D! Sure I don't have any parents or authority figure that should care about my grades... well, except my teachers of course. But still, it's not like grades like these would get me into a good college!

Once a month came to an end, and I had no idea just how tired I looked. Once again, my head was on the desk, a little bit of drool coming out of my mouth as I slept. Mike looked at me worriedly. The bell rang loudly but that wasn't enough to wake me. "Alright class, have a nice weekend!" Walking around the class room, she stopped by Mike's desk and asked him to talk to me. He nodded and walked over to wake me up.

"Hey, Chris." The brunette shook me by the shoulders. After some shaking, I lifted my head with tired baggy eyes. He shook his head as he pulled me out of my chair. "Come on!"

It took me a moment to remember where I was and regain my balance after numbing my legs from the awkward sleep. Turning to my teacher, I waved goodbye and walked out after Mike. "How long was I out?" I asked with a long yawn.

"For most of the class." Mike answered, tossing me the back pack that I had forgotten to pick up. "You're lucky were weren't in Mrs. Banon's class."

"Yeah." While drifting in and out of consciousness, I walked next to Mike, not realizing just how close I was to the wall. Mike also realized this too late since just as he was about to warn me, a door opened and smacked me hard in the face.

The person who had opened the door looked terrified to find me on the ground with a bloody nose. Mike did his best to hold back a laugh as he helped me up. "Well that's what happens when you glide next to the wall like that." The student apologized many times on way to the nurse's office and wouldn't leave until the nurse said to. She found that getting Mike to leave was much harder. "But he might need an escort back to class." He explained with one of the most innocent expressions I have ever seen. The nurse gave up, shook her head and left to get a note ready for us explaining why we were late.

I held my nose up and pinched it to help stop the bleeding along with two cotton balls sticking out of my nostrils for extra measure. My nose ached and I was certain it had broken despite the nurse telling me otherwise. Mike teased me about it saying that it was swelling up and was a bright red. "You don't feel any sort of sympathy for what happened?"

Mike grinned. "Sure I do. Which is why I won't go tellin' Rach about this if you tell me where you've been stayin' this past month." Though the pain seemed to cause a momentary lapse in memory, I immediately thought of Erika. "I came over last week and didn't find yah in yer room." A small smile made it's way across my lips as I was going to ask him what the problem was. "_Or_ any of your stuff, anywhere." I never did like his constant poking around in my personal life, though there seemed to be no stopping it. "When I asked around, nobody even heard about you stayin' there."

"You didn't talk to the managers did you?" I asked with a slight grimace. Oh the trouble I'd be in if they knew I was staying there without paying rent.

"Nah, just asked some of the more regular people, like the stage hands and ballerina girls." He smirked, obviously thinking of the ballerinas. "So, what's goin' on? Yah haven't gone back to-"

"Of course not! Like I'd ever go live with her again." The woman had not even entered my thoughts since I had left. I could only imagine what Charity was doing now for money. It's not she had a real job before. Pushing her aside, I came back at the matter at hand.

"Then would yah tell me what you're doin'?" Usually I wouldn't care but every time I see yah, you're dead tired and... I'm really gettin' worried." Mike paused, looking down for a moment before he continued. "You're not doing drugs or-"

"No!"

"Then why won't yah let me know what's goin' on?! We're best buds, and you know you can trust me, right?"

He was like a brother to me, the closest family I've ever had, and I had never seen Mike so distraught before. It wasn't like it was a usual occurrence for us to keep secrets from each other. Everything seemed to have changed after meeting Erika. But I couldn't just pretend that everything was alright and lie.

"Yeah... but you can't tell anyone, kay?" Mike nodded, smiling once more since he was finally getting into the loop. "I am staying at the opera, but not in the dorms or my mom's dressing room." He cocked his head, thinking of where else I could possibly be staying without someone noticing. "I... I've found a passage into some underground tunnels below the opera house." His eyes widened with delight at this new exciting secret. "I've been staying down there where my... angel of music has been tutoring me relentlessly."

"That is awesome!" The brunette jumped to his feet. "You've got to show me!"

"I can't!" I said a little more quietly to hopefully get Mike to quiet down. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, so I don't need any more trouble by bringing you down there."

"How'd you find it?" He asked, sitting back down, though still a bit excited.

"The angel, Erika. She showed me." Grabbing him by the shoulder, I tried to tell him how serious this was to me. "You can't tell anyone!"

Mike groaned, knowing that not only couldn't he tell anyone, but he wouldn't even get to see it. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Still, this is some angel. Knowing 'bout places like that. Yah still sure she's an angel?"

I wasn't sure how to answer, since I knew she is in fact human, and the so called ghost. But that was one thing I knew I couldn't tell him... At least not yet. "I don't know anymore."

"Alright boys, you've spent enough time in here chatting away." The nurse said as she rounded the corner, handing me a note and nearly kicking us out of the office. "You need to get to class, now." Mike and I stood outside the door a moment before chuckling and heading off to class.

Thanks to Mike, I was able to get through my next class without falling asleep. Good thing too, 'cause this teacher would slam a hammer on the desk to wake anyone who happens to drift off to sleep, or even lay their head down. So of course, not very many people nodded off during class after the first couple of weeks. Luckily that was the last class of the day for Mike and I, so we headed out. Mike would not let go of the secret passage, saying that he'd be searching for it, plus any others he might find.

"You seriously think you're going to find them, when no one else has?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Maybe. It's not like it'll hurt me if I found one. And who knows, I might find the phantom." Mike tossed his backpack to his other shoulder to hang on, letting his right one rest. That was true, there was a chance that if he did find a secret door, he'd find Erika. I'd hate for him to be her next victim.

"Hey, if you do find one, don't do anything stupid."

"Come on man, you know me better than that." He smiled reassuringly.

"Exactly." Mike's smile lessened. Probably remembering what had happened to Joey when he went into the Phantom's domain. "You promise?" I held out which he took after some thought.

"Yeah, I promise. But you have got to come with me!"

"Of course!" We laughed and were in a more lighthearted mood the rest of the walk back to the opera house. "See you at school tomorrow."

"I don't know. I'm gonna try having a sick day." He grinned and ran off.

"There's no way his mom is going to let him pretend sick." I laughed and hurried on inside.

While walking through the different corridors to my mom's old dressing room, I couldn't stop thinking about the secret door ways. Just how many were there? There was the one behind the mirror... but how'd she even know about it? How is she able to keep from being caught. The more I thought about it, I started to realize just how little I know about her. In fact, all I know it that her name is Erika, she pretended to be an angel of music, is the resident ghost, lives beneath the opera house, and loves music.

It didn't make any sense. Why would someone in this day and age live in an underground cave and pretend to be a ghost. Maybe she got the idea from Gaston Leroux's book... Or maybe she's a nut. Still, if I was going to continue living with her, I had to know more about her. She knew plenty about me. It was only fair or natural for me to know more about her. Heck, I don't even know what she really looks like. If her reason for living down there was because of her face, surely she could just go to a doctor and they could do something.

So many questions, and today I was determined to get an answer. By now I was staring down the door. I was a little nervous to suddenly demand answers from her... since last time she got pretty unhappy. After taking a deep breathe, I opened the door and stood in front of the mirror.

"Good afternoon Christopher." Her voice sounded throughout my room with it's same ethereal tone.

"Hey Erika." Another thing I need to ask, does she keep a constant lookout for me? That's a bit creepy.

The mirror opened revealing Erika in a black mask and her normal attire. I had gotten used to being escorted to her home, though I was sure that I could find it on my own now. The walk had been a quiet one, like always, but the air felt heavy. Probably because I was going to ask her about the mask again. It wasn't until we had gotten to the music room that I spoke up.

"Erika, before we start, I'd like to ask you a few things." Her back was turned to me but I see her shoulders heave up and down as she let out a heavy sigh. She must have known that I'd want answers eventually.

"Alright." She turned and sat down at the bench for the piano.

"Why do you live down here?" I thought it better to ask about her mask later, and just work my way to it.

"Music is my life." She paused, as if hoping that her answer was satisfying. "This place, is my escape from the cruelty of the world. I do not wish to say anymore just yet."

"Alright... You mind I ask how old you are?" Erika looked a little thrown off by that one. I'd guess but it's hard to with her mask. For all I know she could be 18 or even 40. Though, she'd have a pretty good body for a 40 year old woman... A really good... body... When ever she'd take off her coat at the entrance of her home, I'd find myself looking her over. She was pretty skinny, like a stick. Even so, she had the figure of a super model as well as good sized breasts. Her hands were pretty big for a girl's and her long hair, though straight, was always messy.

"27." Her gazed turned from me when she answered, maybe embarrassed. Well it was a more personal question. "Will that be all?"

"Uh no, not yet." Strange how your mind goes blank when you had a bunch of questions earlier. Pulling up a stool, I sat down as another question came to mind.

We spent a good half hour talking, mostly me asking questions about her and most of which she answered were short and somewhat vague. Like when I asked how long she lived down here she said, "A decade." or when I asked where she was from, "I am not certain, as I had traveled a lot as a child." When I tried to get there to say more she'd reply, "A woman needs her secrets." Though I noticed that she didn't like talking about her past much. Every time I asked about it, she'd get this heated look in her eyes, so I let it be. It was hard to not ask about the mask, and at the same time I found myself avoiding it completely. That is until I finally gained the courage to ask.

"Why do you wear that mask?"

Erika stood up at the question and turned away. "That is enough for today."

"Are you kidding?!" Erika was surprised by my sudden outburst, I was too. Usually I'm pretty calm but this was getting ridiculous. "You think I care what you look like? And even if it isn't because of your looks, shouldn't I at least know your face?" As I talked, Erika walked towards me, with the same annoyance in her eyes as mine.

"You foolish boy!" She grabbed my neck with one hand. Her grip was tight, not tight enough to cut off my air, but that didn't stop me from attempting to pry her hand from my throat. "The only reason you're even alive still is because of you stupid mother and her stupid promise!" She knew my mom? I would have asked her if I wasn't so surprised and nervous. "As for my face, well-" She started laughing. Her laugh sent a shiver down my spine from the coldness of it. "you'd die!" Using the hand still holding me, she pushed me backwards and tripping over the stool that I had previously sat on.

"No way it's worse than what some horror movies have." I said still rubbing my neck from the thought of nearly being strangled. "If it's really that bad, why don't you just go get surgery?"

"Surgery?!" She laughed again. "Why should I trust ANYONE with ANYTHING?" It was hard to say, since her back was turned to me, but I think she was crying.

Why do girls have to be so overly emotional? "Well you sure seem capable of trusting me with your secrets." Slowly I walked towards her, and it became clear that she was softly crying.

"Yes, why is that?" She almost turned to face me, but quickly turned away.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I made you cry." Carefully I put my hand on her shoulder. Erika jumped a little at the simple touch, but shrugged it off. Her soft sobs had lessened now so I came around to face her. The mask made it hard to see her expression, but her eyes were full of tears that which she held back the best she could. "Come on now, don't cry."

"It has been so long since I have cried." She chuckled, and turned her eyes to me. "You are such a sweet boy... why?"

I thought for a moment, then remembered something my mom would always say. "Do I need a reason?"

Without realizing it, my hand found it's way to her mask, and the tips of my fingers at it's edge. The temptation was so great that I started to move my fingers further to the edge until the tips wrapped around it to the other side. Erika had not realized yet it seemed, but I nearly jumped when she spoke.

"If I were to show you may face... I would have to keep you here... forever. For you would never wish to see me again." The tears started to fall once more, some not making past eye holes and making the mask wet.

"I don't believe that."

One simple movement was all it took to remove the mask. That one simple movement ended me falling back in shock and terror. I didn't scream. I couldn't even make any kind of noise come out of my mouth as I stared at her face. My eyes refused to look away despite my brain telling them to. Erika was too shocked. She stared down at me, her body shivering from the lack of fabric upon her face. It didn't take her long to overcome that shock and change it to a fury that only a woman in rage could have. A scream that could only be described as horrific as a siren's death call escaped her lips. I was sure that everyone in the opera heard her, if only faintly. If I wasn't so entranced by her face I would have covered my ears, but I merely flinched at the sound. Erika was wise to hide her face from me, and was right to call me foolish for wanting to see it.

It looked like she had been rotting in a grave for a few decades and recently crawled out of her coffin. Muscles and skin twisted together in a way that it could show off different parts of her skull. Everything was a mix of reds, browns, purple, pink, and black except for the bits of bone. Her nose was nearly gone, reminding me of Gaston Leroux's phantom, and what was left was some cartilage wrapped in muscle tissue while her eyes were surrounded by a dark purple and black. Where he distortion ended, the skin turned from a reddish purple to the pale peach color on her chin.

When she finally stopped screaming, she started laughing. Her laugh was frightening, crazed, and mad. "Well boy, what do you say now?" She looked at me with a crooked smile and a mad look in her eyes. "Am I still your angel of music?" When she came closer to me, I couldn't stop myself from backing away. "Tell me!?!" One of her hand grabbed my neck tightly, much tighter than before so I had some trouble breathing. "Speechless are we? Well, how bout a kiss then?" If my eyes could go any wider, they would have. "No?" Her nails started to dig into my neck before tossing me back to the ground. She walked away, keeping her back to me, and laughed again, this time with less enthusiasm than before. "Of course not. No sane person would kiss me." Her head turned to me just enough so I could see part of her face. "No living creature would ever willingly leave a kiss on my cheek." A tear trailed down her face and she fell to her knees with her head in her hands.

A part of me wanted to take this moment to run away, but at the same time I couldn't just leave her like that. Plus, running now would probably make things even worse. My hand twitched and it was then I remembered the mask was still in my hand. With the mask held tightly in my hand, I walked back to her. I wasn't sure what I was going to do. If I gave her back her mask, would she take it as an insult, thinking that I only want her to cover her face? Well, I kinda did, but I didn't what her to know that.

Once I was next to her, I could see that she had stopped crying. She glanced up at me through the corner of her eye, not daring to show her face. It became clear that she wanted nothing more than to hide, and she was waiting for me to reject her completely. Letting out a long breathe that I didn't know I was holding, I kneeled down to set the mask down. Her gazed turned to the black mask.

"Um, I'm sorry." She gazed up at me for moment before quickly turning away. "I should have listened to you."

She didn't say a word, but grabbed her mask and got up. When she turned back to me, the mask was back in place. The look in her eyes was back to their normal indifferent expression as she gazed down her nose at me. "Oh, my little Daaé." She said, taking my hands in hers with a small smile. "You are mine now."

I was really starting to wish that I had taken that chance to run.


End file.
